Through the eyes of a Tyrant: Hazards tale
by dyingsoul 36
Summary: What would you see if you looked at a tyrant would you see just a monster or would you look depper and see the human soul trapped within. And when the monster trys to escape his enforced purpose would you help him... or destroy him? read and enjoy
1. Act 1

WASSUP!

DY36 BACK WITH A COMPLETELY REVAMPED HAZARD AND LISA STORY!

IVE ALWAYS LOVED THESE CHARACTERS, HAZARD BECAUSE I MADE HIM! AND I LIKE THE IDEA OF A 'GOOD' TYRANT. AND LISA BECAUSE I FEEL SO SORRY FOR HER, DUE TO WHAT SHES BEEN THROUGH AND I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT IF I WAS IN RESI 1 ID TRY AND TALK TO HER TO AT LEAST TRY AND GET THROUGH TO WHATEVER HUMANITY SHE MIGHT HAVE LEFT.

AND OF COURSE THERES SO MANY POSSIBILITYS WITH HER CHARACTER SO HAD TO COME BACK TO THIS AT SOME POINT.

TO MY 'BORN FROM DARKNESS, LOVED BY LIGHT' FANS DON'T WORRY IM STILL WORKING ON THAT JUST WANTED TO DO SOME OTHER STUFF TOO!

OK NOW THE WARNINGS:

WARNING:

THIS IS AN 'R' IT HAS SCENES OF GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AND SWEARING BUT NO SEX OR NUDITY FOR THOSE WEIRD PEOPLE WHO LIKE ACTION AND VIOLENCE YET THROW A FUSS WHEN THERES THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF NUDITY OR, HEAVEN FORBID, GRAPHIC SEX.

SO NO WORRIES ABOUT THAT… YET.

WAIT SORRY BLOODY MEMORY IS FADING, THERES 'ONE' SLIGHT NUDE SCENE BUT THAT'S ONLY A NAKED ZOMBIE AND ONLY VERY STRANGE PEOPLE WOULD FIND THAT AROUSING.

OK SO WARNINGS OVER.

NOW WITHOUT FURTHER ADU HERE IS 'THE ANGELIC DEMON' COMPLETELY REVAMPED AND HOPEFULLY BETTER THEN THE FIRST.

ENJOY!

ACT 1: AWAKING TO A NIGHTMARE.

Chapter 1

A prisoners escape.

"Time of death?"

"Ten thirty sir"

A voice cursed, "I told you she wouldn't take this, nothing else has survived it"

"I was confident she could take the G-virus" answered a younger, somewhat hesitant voice.

"G-virus?" the older voice asked suspiciously.

"That's what I decided to call it, I thought she could control the mutations but... I guess I overestimated her durability"

"Damn it Birkin! Everything else we tried this stuff on is now just a pile of warped flesh in a cage, I've seen that last specimen, it took ten slugs from my Magnum forty-four to take it down!" the older voice hissed.

"Amazing wasn't it, said Birkin smugly, to think something as weak as a rat could become something that powerful"

"Its dangerous ill give it that, the voice conceded, but it's uncontrollable"

"It will be one day Wesker" Said Birkin firmly.

Albert Wesker looked down through the darkness of his sunglasses into the lab below him; the safety glass that could take a grenade blast had shattered under the frenzied attack of Williams's latest 'experiment'. Thank god she had died quickly.

Beside him William Birkin observed the ruined lab below him with maniacal glee, the white room was smashed to pieces with huge slabs missing from the walls and the medical tables and gear twisted beyond recognition.

Steady dripping echoed around the room as the bodies of three lab assistants that were in the locked lab lay strewn about the room in various pieces. Most had been torn apart but one or two had deep punctures in their bodies.

And slumped in the centre of this carnage was a young woman, her appearance suggesting around eighteen years of age but in truth it was perhaps double that.

Her naked body was covered in blood not all hers and her body lay curled around the chains and enormous metal block that held her arms in check.

But from her back grew a dozen long tentacles of strong muscle and sinew that even in death wrapped protectively around the body they were attached to.

Birkin pointed out one that was halfway through the body of an orderly, "You see? Her limbs were locked so the virus made new ones from an uncaged part of her body, its incredible that it thought to do such a thing so quickly!"

Wesker kept his gun on the still body, "Is she dead though? I put a few bullets in her but I've seen her get up before"

Birkin turned to a shaking technician and the man quickly looked at his monitors.

"Heart and brain signals are at flat line, she's dead" he stammered.

Birkin rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Heart attack, this viruses sudden mutation of her body was too much for even her to handle... shame really... I wonder if she had control over them?"

"She was screaming Birkin, I don't think she was in control" Said Wesker emotionlessly.

Wesker watched as a security team cautiously entered the room from the sealed door below them, they eyed the gore with apprehension and one shot a bullet into the girl just to make sure.

She didn't move.

"HOW DARE YOU SHOOT MY SPECIMEN WITHOUT PERMISSION! SERGENT KILL HIM!" Birkin roared.

"But-" the guards protests were cut off as his commander put a bullet in his head without hesitation, a few of the dead mans comrades swiftly took the body out without fuss.

Wesker arched an eyebrow, "You still intend to use her?"

Birkin nodded, "Ill take samples before disposing of her, she was well past her sell by date as a specimen anyway"

Wesker watched as the body was dragged off and Birkin went after the security team muttering to himself along the way.

Wesker finally holstered his pistol and took another look at the lab; images soon took life behind the glasses.

She was screaming as the virus was pumped into her bloodstream, the orderlies watching and taking notes oblivious to the woman's screams of anguish and begging for it to cease. The thick purple liquid in the syringes stabbed into the main arteries in her neck was almost empty when the change occurred.

First her eyes changed colour, the light brown became golden and the pupil constantly warped between mammalian and reptilian.

Her muscles bulged and then something under her skin flowed and rippled causing blood and screams to spill forth from the woman.

The mutation reached her arms and legs and for a moment they seemed to swell and claws began to develop on her hands, but once they grew to a certain size the metal of the cuffs and chains halted its growth.

For a moment both Wesker and Birkin had feared that the rapidly mutating flesh would break the cuffs but even the virus could not force open titanium of that thickness.

Then she had changed again, the hands and feet had suddenly returned to normal and her back had arched as the mutation under the skin had rushed there.

The skin swelled like a balloon and the woman could do nothing but give short painful whimpers, the pain so great even her breath was being cut off.

Then the skin had burst splattering the room in gore and six long tentacles like great snakes had snapped into the air.

The look on the woman's face as a tentacle snapped into her view was one of pure horror, the orderlies around her had already began to back away towards the door but the tentacles turned towards them when one bumped against a steel chair.

There was a screech of metal on tiles.

A silence.

Then a scream as a tentacle lashed forwards and split a man in two.

Wesker already had his gun drawn and Birkin was yelling for security as the lab assistants were torn to pieces.

The tentacles swiftly turned their attention towards their mistress; they lashed out against the chains holding her to the table and tore them apart with ease. The woman shakily sat up examining herself with wonder and horror. Wesker watched in fascination as her manacled hands reached out for a tentacle and it eagerly submitted to her touch, her eyes then turned cold and a black fury twisted her lips into a snarl as she looked up at him and Birkin.

A tentacle smashed against the glass of the observation station and bounced back doing no damage.

All six tentacles had then paused for a moment and then launched themselves against the glass.

The glass that was designed to hold back the force of a tyrant shattered as easily as delicate crystal.

Wesker hadn't hesitated; he opened fire on the girl sending a torrent of bullets into her.

She doubled over as one hit her stomach and another slammed her backwards as it smashed through her forehead, her tentacles acted swiftly and moved around her blocking the rest of the projectiles.

The woman shakily rose to her feet; her tentacles swaying angrily in the air as Wesker quickly reloaded. A bullet was forced out of her head and fell to the floor with a small clatter as the wound healed.

'She's never recovered that quickly from a bullet to the head' Wesker had mused as he slammed the clip into his gun and took aim.

The woman snarled and her tentacles slashed through the air towards Wesker and Birkin, Wesker rolled to the side swiftly putting two more bullets into the shrieking woman.

Her body was streaming with blood as twin holes were smashed into her chest, she fell to one knee but slowly tried to lever herself back up, overhead her tentacles shook spastically mirroring their mistresses pain.

Wesker didn't let up as he continued to fire putting more bullets into her. One into her head and another in a kneecap, the last going straight through a tentacle almost severing it.

She fell to her knees convulsing in pain her shrieks turning into pitiful mewls of pain, her tentacles were slumped round her trying to cover her body as more bullets tore into her.

With a final soul-wrenching wail she fell to the floor shaking and spasming until finally she remained still, Wesker and Birkin stared at her unmoving body until Birkin glanced at the monitors.

"Heart attack it seems" he said softly.

Wesker didn't answer. He was too busy watching for movement.

After a few minutes Birkin turned to one of his subordinates, "Time of death?"

Wesker was sitting in the dining room sipping at his coffee when William ran in; the scientist looked extremely pleased and was carrying his personal briefcase.

'What breakthrough happened now?' wondered Wesker.

"Its amazing Wesker! You won't believe what we managed to find in the girls blood," William said excitedly, waving his hands in enthusiasm.

"Lots of iron and gun powder?"

"No! The G-virus, she mutated it!"

Now Birkin had his attention, "Explain"

William quickly took a seat next to Wesker his eyes alight with excitement, "The G-virus increases strength, agility and creates incredible regenerative abilities as you know but it destroys the brain functions in the process"

"So does the T-virus Birkin" Wesker pointed out.

William waved it aside, "Outdated as far as I'm concerned, anyway her brain and body were being mutated and with any other subject their consciousness would have been destroyed and their body would be mutated beyond recognition but not her! She forced the Virus to change to mutate only what needed to mutate and to stay away from the brain"

"How's that possible?"

"Antibodies! Its amazing that they could do it but they did, within seconds her body had made its own antibodies to keep the virus out of the brain and to keep it controlled, she then took control of the virus and used it to her own advantage!"

William pulled a folder from his briefcase and pointed out some results.

"As you can see when she was injured her body placed all the normal repair cells there, platelets, proteins, white blood cells etc, but she also herded the virus there and then, well to be frank let it loose!"

He pointed at the some notes of the G-virus; Wesker eyed it and found it matched what he already knew of the virus.

"When a G-virus creature is injured it automatically heals using the virus to create explosive cell growth"

"Like cancer"

"Exactly! But she forced her own DNA into the virus and let it take over when she was injured, it repaired what only needed to be repaired then let it be, to all intends and purposes she's turned the virus into a secondary immune and repair system!"

Wesker nodded, it made sense.

Most G-virus creatures had a tendency to create extra eyes, limps, and even organs on even only mildly damaged wounds, the virus only knew to repair the area and it did it by making a multitude of various tissues.

'That rat made a new heart over a bullet hole I put in it, even with no major arteries that could possible connect to it' Wesker remembered with revulsion.

"So what Birkin she's dead now" Wesker said taking a sip of his coffee, 'needs more milk'

Without a word Wesker reached for the milk and poured some more into his coffee, William continued to talk, used to Weskers nonchalant take to such exciting news.

"Yes but we now have samples of the antibodies, with them we can create other subjects that can control the virus"

He leaned closer his voice becoming a whisper, "I also think I can make a cure for it... and maybe make personal samples for certain peoples"

Wesker absorbed what he said then slowly put his cup on the table.

"Are you suggesting what I think your suggesting?" he asked his own voice lowered.

William nodded his eyes alight, "Given time I can perfect this new G-virus, then anyone can inject him or herself and become a bio-weapon"

"Anyone like you?"

"Us"

"What do you want for this?" asked Wesker considering what demands Birkin would make.

William's eyes hardened, "This new virus has been made by me alone, I will not share it with Umbrella... it is mine by right!"

"Umbrella will not let you keep it" Wesker warned.

"I know, that's where you come in, you've noticed how... exposed this place is haven't you"

Wesker nodded, he finished his coffee and eyed the abundant wildlife outside the windows of the hall.

"If there was an outbreak, whispered Birkin, it could quite easily spread through this entire forest... perhaps even further"

"I had noticed"

"I want to move somewhere more secluded... somewhere hidden where I can finish my research in peace"

Wesker considered his options; he could report William but quickly crushed that thought. The reward he would get would be small compared to the gains from this deal.

"When it's perfected I want my own sample... for personal use"

William smiled, "Find me somewhere hidden, somewhere to finish my research and you will be more powerful then you could imagine"

Wesker eyed Birkin as the scientist gazed off into his own world, "We will be... perfect, immune to disease, resistant to damage and stronger then any other mortal creature"

His eyes burned with zeal as another thought reached him, "Even time could not touch me... id be immortal"

Wesker poured another cup of coffee, "Us" he warned.

Birkin nodded, "Of course"

"Ill find you somewhere, just wait a few months and ill have somewhere to hide for you" Wesker promised.

Birkin nodded then rose from his seat putting away his papers then heading for the exit.

"What did you do with the girl?" Wesker asked.

William shrugged, "I had her disposed just like all the other specimens"

"Burnt or dumped?"

"Dumped, I don't want this place to stink for the whole day"

Wesker watched as William left then turned back to his drink, for a moment his thoughts went back to the girl and he wondered what was going through her mind when she died, after over twenty years of torture maybe she welcomed death?

Wesker shrugged, what did he care?

Good riddance to the bitch.

"Why the hell we gotta drag this shit around boss?"

"Can it, orders are orders boy you wanna argue with old 'sunglasses'?"

"No way, I'm not suicidal boss"

"Good then shut up and help me get this into the truck"

The driver shook his head in amusement as he heard the bitching of the two 'trash' collectors.

There was a thump as the girls body was thrown into the back of the van then one of the men walked up to his window.

"Ok mate your show now, boss wants her dumped in the 'pit'"

The driver nodded then started the engine, the two assistants walked back to the mansion talking about some party that was happening tonight.

'I'm not gonna be there though, gotta spend the night dragging dead people through the fucking cold and dark just cause the higher ups will bitch about the smell if we burn them' the driver thought, shaking his head in disgust.

With a sputtering groan the engine started and the van made a slow escape from the courtyard, black smoke barely visible in the darkness spewed from the exhaust and inside the van the body rolled about due to the poor road.

The driver turned up the radio listening with interest about the latest robberies and murders happening in Raccoon city, 'let the cops try and deal with some of the stuff we got in this places basement then they'll beg for normal killers' the driver thought in black humour.

There was another bump from the back and the driver groaned in annoyance, 'why the hell couldn't they strap the bloody bitch down first?'

There was another thump which made the driver frown in confusion, 'strange did I go over another pothole and not notice?' he wondered.

He turned the radio up blocking out any further noise from the back; he couldn't be bothered to listen to corpses rolling in his van.

He eyed the road before him keeping an eye out for any trouble; he was so engrossed in this and the radio he didn't notice the small window just behind him being prised open.

The man didn't notice either the long fleshy shape slowly easing itself into the cockpit; neither did he see the golden eye that watched him from the darkness of the van storage.

He did notice when he felt a cold breeze on the back of his neck, he glanced at the two windows either side of him but both were sealed.

'Bloody back windows gone and opened itself again!'

With a muttered curse the driver slowed the van down to a stop then turned to close the window and lock it.

His eyes met a single golden one that glowed in the dark of the van, it narrowed and then a terrified scream echoed in the van.

The drivers body twitched slightly as blood streamed from his mouth and the hole in his head, his features remained twisted into an expression of horror that he had took just before the tentacle hanging above his head speared into his brain.

The girls head cocked as she watched him for a moment then turning away she went to the far end of the van to examine the locked back doors, the tentacle in the mans head followed her after pulling itself free with a wet sounding yank.

After a moment's examination she gripped both the doors handles with her bound hands then gave a pull.

The lock shattered and the doors opened without further complaint, after a moments awed surprise at her own strength the girl jumped out crouching down low against the van. She eyed the darkness around her with only a little fear, her tentacles hung above her ready to lash out at anything that approached.

The girl stood upright her expression one of confusion that slowly turned into delight, she closed her eyes as a cold yet gentle breeze soothed her and her long hair rippled under its touch.

She took a deep breath of the forest and grinned as the scent of the abundant life brought back memories of times long ago when she had smelled flowers at a park.

With a scream of glee she shuffled into the forest to explore, her body crouched low as she kept close to the ground but above her the six tentacles guarded her back and watched over her.

Something she hadn't experienced for so long rose in the fog of her mind. She tried to remember it and then, with satisfaction, she recalled the word for it.

'Freedom'

The girl shuffled into the forest intent on making the best out it and to never be seen again by her oppressors.

Lisa was at last, free.

Chapter 2

Awakening of the free tyrant.

A year later...

"Beep...beep...beep"

Within a room of metal and glass hidden deep beneath the mansion above it, a heart monitor steadily chimed in the darkness. It's soft note echoing in a dark and empty lab.

A single light flickered making the rooms furnishing look like items from a horror show. Tables filled with surgical instruments had a dank rust coloration to them and the metal of the room looked grey and foreboding in the poor light.

Empty tanks filled with dirty liquids lined the room in ordered rows; several were smashed with putrid sacks of decaying flesh still within or collapsed on the grated floor beside them.

In this room of death and darkness a single sound and a single light remained constant. Among the rows hidden at the back a single tank, still filled with life giving liquid and illuminated by lights along its length, remained untouched.

Within this tank a creature floated gently in the liquid, its body curled around itself like a child within a womb as it slept oblivious to the world around it.

So this remained for so long. Days went by and the creature remained unmoving, unthinking, its life barely sustained.

Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months and still the creature remained trapped in its peaceful coma. As the months became a year the supply of life giving nutrients reached dangerous levels.

The tank over the year had slowly begun to take a misty and slightly yellow colour and the more rapid beeping stated the creatures discomfort and danger.

The lights turned red giving the creature an image of floating in blood, the beeping increased as a computer almost dead with age struggled to speak.

"Life s-zzzhilih-port sys-hsjsyh-m failing commen-zzzssy emergency awake-awake-awake-awake-sjskksjkjs awaking immediately"

The creature twitched as slivers of electricity ran over its tube, it convulsed violently as the voltage increased in a last ditch attempt to waken the child within.

The liquid was rapidly clouding over and still the creature didn't awake, the voltage stopped as the last of the power supply failed, the lab after so long went dark and silent with the finality of death.

In the darkness the liquid continued to turn a putrid yellow and the creature went still for all intends and purposes dead.

The putrid yellow covered the creature completely, until nothing but a shadowy figure could be seen.

Then a golden eye opened.

Outside the lab a chimera was doing its rounds of this level of its lair, its hairy saggy body was hunched over as it leisurely crawled towards the 'graveyard' a place were the ancient humans had made many of its kind and other such 'bioweapons'.

Its head raised with an audible snap and it hissed as a loud crash came from the door beyond it, it raised its scythe-like claw in readiness as something smashed against the locked door of the 'graveyard'.

The chimera took a step back considering its options as the solid steel door, several inches thick that even a group of chimeras could not break down, was being slowly forced open by what ever was behind the door.

Within its mainly instinctive brain the thought of 'running like buggery' popped into its head.

When a hand complete with claws and an equally muscled arm smashed through the door and began to tear a bigger hole the chimera's bottle dropped.

It ran justifying itself with the thought that 'any stupid idiot who stays to see just what could tear himself in half as easily as a steel door isn't getting far in natural selection!'

The chimera vanished into the vents as the door was torn down.

Twin gold eyes eyed the dark corridor before it with some apprehension, the room behind it had been scary to look at but this place was just as bad.

What little lighting still remained flickered erratically making horrible after images in the minds eye, the ruined structure of the walls and the hissing jets of steam from ruptured pipes made the corridor seem to be the gateway to some hellish world.

With force of will the creature took a step forward its eyes narrowed and claws held up defensively. But with every step the creature lost its fear as it became accustomed to this strange place, indeed, its eyes were now finding it increasingly less difficult to pierce the darkness and see what the spectres in the shadows really were.

Still this place was strange; the creature gave another glance at the large tank dimly seen at the back of the room behind and of the hulking monster which floated comatose within it.

Shaking its head to dispel its wariness the creature advanced soon reaching the end of the corridor and stopping before a strange construct.

A large metal 'box', it seemed, was suspended above a large tunnel which although not visible to the eye the creature could smell a thin breeze wafting from under it, eyeing it the creature carefully stepped inside its eyes squinting at the harsh glare of the light inside.

It examined the box intently running its hands along the walls and sniffing with interest at the wires and hardwire that was hidden within its frame.

A small charge still ran through the construct and somehow the creature knew this meant it should still be functional, it dimly recollected the image of boxes similar to this one moving up and down, ferrying people between levels.

'Ok so how do I make it move?' it wondered.

Its eyes spied two buttons, closer examination showed them to be simple arrows pointing up and down, and they both glowed with dull yellow light.

The creature reached out and pressed one, when nothing happened it frowned worriedly and tried the other.

The elevator gave a dull whine and a sharp thump as it reluctantly moved, like a pack mule not wanting to move from a comfortable spot but submitting to its master's commands. Within the creature hissed at the elevators first startling shudder then relaxed as it gradually descended.

The doors opened with a rusted groan and the creature stepped out gratefully, it eyed the surrounding area with even more suspicion as everywhere it looked destruction and decay met its eyes.

The walls and floor were covered in filth, grime and horribly coloured fungal growth. Here and there sparks flew from decaying wires and half the lights were smashed, the other half barely functioning.

The creature shivered at the chilling cold and wrapped its arms and tail round itself protectively, its breath misted before its eyes and the creature watched it with surprise then gave a childlike smile as it took deeper breaths to make more 'clouds'.

After a moment entertaining itself it took several inquisitive sniffs of the air, its eyes frowned in puzzlement of the strange scents in the air.

The air itself was musty and old, as if this place had been locked away for years and no new air had filtered in, also many strange creature scents drifted throughout the air.

Rotted things, hairy things... things that stank of sweat, bile and excrement as well as decaying flesh.

Justifiably cautious the creature rounded the corner of this corridor coming to a long t-junction, at one end was a heavily rusted door which seemed to lead to more corridors.

At the other a set of double doors which glowed due to the harsh yellow light that glowed from a lamp above it... something about those double doors filled the creature with dread and it hissed quietly as it stared at those doors, which seemed to glare back with malevolence.

The creature looked away moving towards a door at the centre of the junction, it was unlocked and no threatening scents or noises came from within so it pushed open the door, wincing at the harsh screech the door made.

Somehow the creature knew it did not want to attract attention to itself.

Stepping in and gratefully shutting the door behind it the creature examined this room thoughtfully; some kind of battle had taken place here due to the torn and broken furniture and long scratches in the walls.

Moving to the only standing table the creature eyeing an old typewriter on its surface then brushed its hand over some of the paperwork scattered about the desk, one message scribbled frantically on to a notepad caught its eye. Unfortunately most of the writing had degraded over time and thus only snatches of letters were still legible.

'Th T- rus has be n set loos an our cha ces of survival gro dim. Ed and I ha e deci ed to esc pe anyway w can bu the gua ds are prevent ng any ne leav ng due to the out reak, ev n with so many dy ng they st ll clin to protoc l!

Still Ed may h ve foun a way ou afte all, a dispos l wo ker named Josh ha acc ss to the body dispo al chu e, its ris y bu we could us it to re ch the sew rs an escape tha way.

Of cour e even tho gh unguar ed some of th speci ins may h ve rea hed the sew rs alre d .

St ll ev n a slim chanc is bet er then wa ting t die.

The chu e is hid n in th entr nce to emerg ncy tu el to th heli ort, it sho ld be unguard .

Cassy if y u read th s hurry t t e chute, I wil wait fo you at the ottom but i c nt w it fore er.

If i am n t ther or a dead th n ple se carr on and esc pe.

Pleas sur ive my love...

Y u lov ng husband Garry.'

The creature read the letter twice over trying to make some sense of it, T-rus? An outbreak? Just what had happened here?

Its eyes were drawn again to the word T-rus and it whispered the word to itself... somewhere... within its shattered mind it knew this word.

T-rus... T-rus...

The creature closed its eyes and snarled in frustration, it knew this word!

T-rus...

T...rus...T...v-virus. T-Virus!

The creature screamed as white-hot agony and thunderous voices echoed within its skull.

"Are you sure it will be able to survive such a procedure Birkin? No other test subject has been successfully melded with the Nemesis virus"

"This isn't Nemesis Wesker, this is my own creation... a hybrid of T and G-virus and I am confident that this specimen will mould with the virus"

"But you've tried children and embryos before Birkin, what's so special about this one?"

"Just a hunch, I have a good feeling about this one Wesker"

"Spencer is not going to overlook this Birkin, you know that"

"If it dies then no harm done, if it lives then Sir Spencer will ignore my... 'Initiative' and congratulate my success"

"You presume too much William"

"Have faith Albert, this will usher in a new age for Umbrella"

The creature collapsed, curling into a ball as tears streamed down its face. It mewled in pain as echoes of an old torture, a 'procedure' was remembered by its body.

Another scream as its skin burned and it felt sharp instruments pierce it's skin and eject poison into its body, a corruption that its form and mind did not want.

"PLEASE STOP, PLEASE STOP, PLEASE JUST STOP!" the creature sobbed, but like before the surgeons of pain refused its pleas and continued the mutilation of its form.

Just as suddenly as it started it stopped, and the creature lay still its breathing sharp and erratic as the pain faded. It shut its eyes tightly crying like a child subjected to horrible things.

After a few moments collecting itself it raised itself to a sitting position, claws carefully wiping away its tears and checking itself for wounds... wounds that could not be seen but it KNEW had existed.

'What happened to me?' it wondered in horror, 'what nightmares have I endured and can no longer remember?'

For the first time since its birth (birth?) it felt clarity of self. It looked over its lightly purple skin, large clawed hands and long tail which shook in fear (its own fear the creature numbly thought) and knew for the first time this was all wrong.

Purple skin, wrong.

Claws two inches long, wrong.

A two meter long tail that acted as a fifth limb, all wrong.

Wrong, wrong, WRONG! IM ALL WRONG!

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MEEE!" it shrieked, noticing that its voice too was harsh and broken, as if its mouth and tongue were not build for speech.

It received no answer and the creature slumped in defeat at its own failure to recollect its past, whatever it had been.

Its tail curled round itself in a comforting embrace and the creature gave a brief smile at the action patting its shaking appendage. It didn't care at the moment that it was really being comforted by itself, as long as it was comforted.

After a few minutes of silence the creature warily rose to its feet its fists clenching and unclenching in its rising fury.

'Something has been done to me... something I can't remember yet can still FEEL.'

The creature eyed the crumpled note still held within its claws and its face set into an expression of determination. It would follow the instructions of this last message and escape this horrible place.

And then it would start searching for answers to its questions.

The creature eyed its claws yet again and thought, 'And perhaps some clues as to what I am'.

So decided the creature turned and made to march resolutely into its future.

And stopped dead in shock.

Another creature was in this room and it too looked shocked at the others presence, it was standing next to the doorway to this room just beside a large chest.

The creature hissed and raised its claws in defence; the other did the same thing. The creature glared at the newcomer unsure how to proceed... it didn't really want to fight. Perhaps it could talk to the other?

"Hello?" It asked cautiously, the creature noticed with confusion that the other mouthed the same word as it but no sound came forth. Then it noticed a table and typewriter behind the other.

The creature blushed in embarrassment and smacked its head at its own foolishness, its reflection copied it and the creature gave an amused laugh at its reflections embarrassed appearance.

Curiously it walked closer seeing its whole self for the first time, it ran its claws over its face in wonder and looked deep into its own eyes.

'I'm not that... bad looking actually' it thought with amazement, (For some reason it had been expecting much worse) strangely it found its gold flecked eyes to be quite pretty. It blushed at the thought and eyed the deep indigo its cheeks had taken as it blushed.

It examined itself noting how smooth and flawless its lightly purple skin was, it was confused as it still couldn't shake the feeling that it should be horrible not perfect.

It tugged at its hair inquisitively, the hair itself was jet black and hung in strips over its eyes. The rest was overgrown and thick, reaching past its shoulders. The creature shook its head fiercely, grinning in delight as its hair flowed and danced with the movement.

The creature smiled at itself all in all very pleased with how it looked; now it decided to turn its attention to the rest of itself.

The creature extended an arm wiggling its claws experimentally, its hands seemed bigger then normal (although it wasn't sure what normal was) but this was probably to compensate for the large claws that grew from its fingers.

Its arm was of an average length in that it hung to just below his waist, (well slightly longer due to the hand) yet its muscles were well defined and seemed to be very strong.

This made the creature frown in confusion as it looked over its chest noting the strong toned muscles there. While not as clearly defined as wrestlers muscles or a weightlifter they were still visible, more like a dancers lean and flexible physique.

The creature though pleased with its form still couldn't shake off the feeling of wrongness that it had mere moments before, it kept expecting pink skin and a smaller frame then this purple warrior. It met its eyes and again it felt that the colour should have been a sparkling green rather then the current golden brown before it.

It shook its head clear of the troubling thoughts, it looked nice not horrible and anyway it would find out more about itself later.

The creature pleased with this little self-evaluation of itself made to move on when another thought, that had previously been lurking in its subconscious, crashed into its mind like a freight train.

The creature blushed and turned back to its reflection meeting its own nervous eyes, then with some trepidation it slowly looked down its body. To the region below its waist.

'Oh my'.

The creatures blush deepened as it looked upon itself, its head cocked to the side as it eyed its flesh... and the reaction that its own attentions were having.

Reaching out with a hand (very carefully due to the claws) the creature gingerly enclosed its flesh and shuddered as its gentle attentions made strange... feelings flow from the area.

Shaking its head the creature pulled its hand away, now was not the time for self-exploration!

The creature met its eyes again and blushed at the flushed stare.

"Guess I know what I am now..." he whispered.

Looking on his naked form the issue of modesty soon became a top priority in his mind; the creature looked around searching for any clothes to wear.

His golden eyes looked upon a chest next to the door to this room with hope, walking over to it he carefully made to open it.

The chest wouldn't budge and the creature glared at a large rusted padlock that kept this possible source of clothing beyond his grasp.

'At the very least there must be something of worth here for it to be locked' he mused.

He eyed his long claws speculatively and giving a shrug carefully stuck it inside the lock, twisting the digit around in the hopes of unlocking it.

His attempts met with no success and after a minute the creature snarled and raising his fist lashed at the lock in anger. To his surprise the metal crumpled under the blow, thought still locked the metal was severely damaged by the strike.

The creature eyed his hands in wonder then gave a savage grin as he contemplated this interesting discovery.

'All right then!'

Grasping the lock in both hands he gave a savage pull laughing as the padlock was torn apart under the pressure. Throwing it away dismissively he opened the chest and gave a shout of glee.

Rumbled clothing packed thickly into the chest met his excited gaze and the creature quickly pulled the nearest apparel free.

It was an old lab coat yellowed by age but not too moth bitten, to his delight it was a good fit the robe flowing below the waist giving him some modesty.

Pleased the creature dug deeper into the chest looking for some more clothing, the chest seemed to be full of old lab coats of varying sizes but giving another whoop of delight the creature pulled a faded pair of blue jeans from the pile.

The creature tried to put the jeans on but winced at the pain of trying to fit his tail in, inspecting the jeans he grinned and ripped a hole in the back for his tail.

The jeans were now a snug fit and he swung his tail around for a moment just to widen the hole more comfortably.

He patted himself down then frowned as his hands felt something in the jeans left pocket, fiddling around for a moment ('god these pockets are tight!') he pulled out a small plastic bag.

He held it up to the flickering light and examined it thoughtfully, a strange red and green plant matter was crunched up into a paste and sitting at the bottom of the bag.

He carefully opened it and sniffed it inquisitively; he gagged immediately at the strong herbal scent and quickly closed the bag.

He eyed it suspiciously again, whatever this material was it hadn't smelt of decay so mustn't be harmful... perhaps its some kind of medicine? He considered this for a moment.

Shrugging he forced it back into his left pocket and turned back to the chest, after a few moments spent lifting up the (supposedly heavy) chest and giving a few firm shakes to free the clothing he abandoned his search. After rummaging through the clothes the creature found nothing else of interest.

"Guess this will have to do" he murmured as he patted himself down. Taking one last look at the mirror, and giving himself a smile of encouragement, he stuffed the researchers note into his pocket and left the room. To continue his journey and find out more of this place.

And hopefully find someone else alive in here.

Within the cold and silent halls of the dead and corrupted lab a figure paused in its shambling lurch.

Frenzied sniffing broke the silence as the figure breathed deep of the stale air, as a new scent drifting in the cold breeze awakening an old hunger.

Milky eyes turned and the creatures steps became more hurried as it stumbled towards the source of the scent, moving through the empty corridors until it reached a self connecting square passageway.

Its steps slowed as old memories that barely remained in its rotting brain flowed to the surface. Images dwelled behind its void eyes as it remembered times long gone when it worked in these labs, though the halls were in much better condition then.

Another voice within its own mind spoke and the unliving body of a former researcher moved into the shadows to ambush its approaching prey. The body heeded only the voice that seemed to echo from within its own diseased cells.

It had obeyed when the voice had told it to attack its former friends in this place; it had listened as the voice spoke above the pleading of the creature's friends and the body had reacted without hesitation as it was told to feast on its friends flesh.

The voice had roared in bloodlust as the body's teeth had sunk into warm flesh and living blood had gushed down its throat.

Now the creature hesitated as it stared at the door before it, it remembered that beyond that door was the power rooms for this lab. It had worked there once, with friends where it had joked, and laughed… it had been happy.

More recollections grew. Something had been set loose within the labs. An unseen predator that had attacked the people and animals here turning them into flesh eating monsters and forcing them to turn on their friends and companions.

The body remembered a time when the voice had first started to whisper within its thoughts, weak at first but growing swiftly stronger. Begging, pleading, persuading and then finally demanding obedience… submission.

The mind had fought but eventually succumbed to the voice and the tide of rot and pestilence that overcame its senses. Now the body was nothing more then a doll, a puppet. And the voice the puppeteer.

More sniffing, the prey was approaching; the voice grew excited at the prospect of warm flesh.

The virus spoke… and the dead man obeyed.

The creature stood undecided at the junction he was currently occupying. Having just left the room behind him he now wasn't sure what direction to take next, should he continue along the corridor to the rusted double doors or take this much less threatening door to the right?

'Hell with it ill take the seemingly safer route' the creature decided with a shrug.

His tail lashed in agreement and encouraged by his audience of one tail he made for the single door before him, wasting just a minute trying to open another door along the same route that was securely locked.

The creature gingerly opened the door a fraction, sniffing deeply of the air and standing alert for any suspicious sounds. After a few moments he detected nothing threatening ('Hopefully') and entered the corridor beyond the door.

He frowned as he found himself at yet another junction with corridors that seemed to stretch on forever, spending a few moments 'ip-dip-dooing' the creature went right.

The hidden creature tensed as it heard footsteps approaching its hiding place, drooling in anticipation it prepared itself for the upcoming battle and subsequent feasting.

Having found yet another firmly locked door along the right hand path the creature had continued on hoping for something of interest to turn up.

The creature gave a low growl when a putrid smell hit his nostrils; he advanced cautiously eyeing the stacks of ruined tables and scaffolds to his right.

He moved to investigate the shadowy area but stopped as the smell made its location known, his head turned eyeing the large fan that dominated the left side of the wall of this passageway.

He moved closer, the heavy and slow turning of the fan catching his attention; he peered into the darkness behind the fan trying to see into the gloom.

His eyes widened and he stepped back in shock as his eyes adapted to the dark, a huddled figure was lying behind the fan as if it had been trying to hide there.

The creature eyes moved over its body staring in revulsion at the deep slime encrusted cuts throughout its form, the bloodstained clothing and general gruesomeness of the image.

After a few moments he noticed that the head was missing and couldn't hold back the morbid thought 'where is it?'

His question was soon answered as the fan stopped, the surprise of that sound suddenly stopping made the creature flinch but he froze rigid when he saw the reason for the fans stopping.

The head had been ripped free of the body long ago but almost a year of air currents had rolled the head into the path of the fan, it was just the creature's unfortunate luck to be here when it did.

The creature stared in horror at the frozen image of a scream looked up at him silently and slowly began to back away.

The fan make a low whine as the heavy blade began to dig into the severed head, the creature couldn't look away as the blade slowly crushed the heads skull. Pus and grey/yellow brain matter began to dribble out.

With a muffled gag the creature wrenched his eyes away curling around himself and clutching his stomach in nausea.

He closed his eyes as his stomach threatened to eject its contents when a loud crunch and a noise similar to the impact of porridge on the floor cut through the air.

The sudden mental image was too much and the creature fell on all fours as he vomited onto the floor.

The hidden monster had left its hiding place among the rusted scaffolds and old operating tables, it crept more stealthily then it had ever done right up to its preys retching form.

The virus screamed in anticipation and the body trembled as it raised its clawed hands, drool and green corpse gases expelled from its mouth as it appraised the morsel currently shivering on the floor.

Its muscles tensed and its hands quivered in expectation as its prey remained oblivious to its presence.

The virus roared.

And the body leapt.

The creature had just started to rise when something slammed into his side, he gave a shout of surprise as something smashed him into the ground harshly and hands moved to hold him.

He struggled franticly against his assailant and tried to twist free of its grip when he felt hot breath near his neck and then to his shock sharp teeth sank into his shoulder.

The creature roared in pain and fear as his attacker gnawed at his shoulder, the thick material of the lab coat thwarting it momentarily.

'Its trying to eat me, this thing is trying to eat me!' The creature thought in horror.

Forcing himself to ignore the pain he clenched his fist and punched his attacker as hard as could, there was a crunch and his enemy gave a moan of pain but it only served to make it redouble its efforts.

Maddened with pain the creature twisted round sharply trying to break free of the others grip. He screamed as the flesh of his shoulder was ripped away during his escape but he was free and he quickly rolled away and sprang to his feet.

Now finally able to view his attacker he stared in horror at the abomination that looked back at him hungrily, it gave a loathsome slurp as it gulped down the flesh still clamped in its teeth.

Its form was that of a man and indeed the filthy and tattered lab coat it wore identified it as having once been a researcher but that's where the similarities ended.

Its eyes were a milky white with opaque pupils that couldn't possible bestow vision, the creature looked deep into them shuddering at the endless hunger that filled those eyes, a hunger that overrided all other emotions.

Its skin was stained a deep crimson and had rotted away completely at certain places exposing reddened tissue beneath. Its face with its leering grin and rotted teeth made the creature quake in fear and its corpse appearance further heightened his terror.

Although clearly emaciated and with its muscles appearing wasted its posture and bearing was powerful as it slowly rose to its feet, squatting slightly its body tensed and made ready to spring.

The creature couldn't help but notice the large crimson hands similar to his own and the brown unclean claws that sprouted from its fingers.

"What are you?" The creature whispered trying to understand how something so… so dead could be so alive.

The monster answered him only with a snarl and it charged at him closing the gap between them with starling speed; the creature sprang back as filthy claws swiped through the air trying to cut him to ribbons.

The creature danced about trying desperately to dodge those slashing claws, the monster hissed in frustration and then unleashing a screech of rage lunging for him with its arms outstretched as if to embrace him.

Thinking quickly the creature ducked and leapt to one side the monster rushing past him, as it did the creature's tail swung round impacting on the monsters legs and bringing it tumbling to the floor.

It laid there dazed for a moment but soon tried to get back on its feet, 'oh no you don't!' the creature thought angrily and bringing up his foot he brought it down furiously on the monsters back.

There was a loud snap and the monster screamed though more in hate then any real pain, it struggled franticly and the creature pushed down harder digging his foot deeper into the monsters spine.

Despite paralysis below its waist the monster continued to shriek and thrash around, growing nervous that others might hear its cries he kneeled pressing his knee in to its back to hold the thing in place.

Not wanting to get close to its teeth the creature grasped its hair in both hands and pulled back hard, the enemy snapped its teeth and hissed as its neck and head was pulled back uncomfortably.

Before it could act the creature reversed his grip and smashed the monster face first into the hard concrete floor, there was a wet crack and dark blood spurted but the monsters struggles continued.

Showing no mercy the creature grimly continued to smash the things head into the floor, pressing his whole weight onto it to ensure it couldn't escape. He snarled as its struggles weakened and repeatedly slammed his attacker into the floor, giving into rage he continued until nothing but a blooded pulp was left.

He leaned back panting heavily as he numbly surveyed the shattered mess that was the monsters skull, diseased blood lazily spread from the wound and its brain matter covered the floor where it had been forced free from the constant punishment.

Taking a breath to calm himself the creature shakily got to his feet trying to ignore what had just happened, he took a few steps away from the corpse before slumping against the passage wall, slowly sliding down to rest against the cold stone.

Hugging his knees he stared blearily at the body, he idly noticed that its leg was twitching occasionally.

'What just happened?' he asked himself in confusion.

What was that thing that attacked him? Who was that man whose head has just been crushed by a fan? Just what happened to this place?

He hugged himself tighter as these questions raced through his mind, taking another breath he tried to look at what few facts he had.

The thing that had attacked him it was wearing a lab coat so perhaps it worked here once? Which meant was whatever he was working on the cause for his current condition?

His eyes once again rang over the dead mans flesh staring quizzically at the rotted skin and bare tissue. Nothing could be alive with such injuries it just wasn't possible… was it?

Was the man then… dead? Was he not alive at all?

The creature shivered at the chilling thought, was this some kind of zombie? An undead?

No! The creature shook his head at the thought; such things were fiction, myths, just stories!

'Then just what is that thing then if not a zombie?' His subconscious argued.

"Not a zombie… not a zombie. Its something…else" The creature frowned and his eyes darted to his pockets and the note still within, he quickly brought it out and studied it again.

The writer was afraid cause something had got loose, this T-virus. People were dying but they weren't staying dead were they?

He eyed the lab coat again, the people were dying but they were getting back up and killing. He shivered as he recalled the look of delight on the monsters face as it swallowed the flesh clamped within its teeth.

"So people were trying to escape, the guards obviously were trying to stop this virus from spreading so were killing deserters, the outcome? Mass panic and mayhem." He nodded at his reasoning.

He looked over the filthy walls and silence that filled this place, his own heartbeat sounded like thunder in this… tomb! For lack of a better word.

'Which means this place has been abandoned for years probably, and is likely swarming with these 'zombies' everywhere' he groaned at the prospect.

"That's just great" he spat. 'Just what did I do in a previous life to deserve waking up in this place?' He wondered gloomily.

Deciding that there was no point wasting anymore time the creature got back on his feet wincing at the pain in his shoulder, he gingerly prodded the area noting that the bleeding had stopped thankfully.

Stuffing the note back in his pocket and glancing at the corpse once more he decided to carry on and get the hell out of this place.

Being more careful of his surroundings the creature crept to the next junction hiding just at the edge before peeping round.

His caution was justified as this path lead to another long corridor with another side door at the end and a set of stairs leading up. Unfortunately another 'zombie' guarded them; this one was in even more disgusting state then the previous. Where that one had moved with strength and had been of a crimson coloration this one was just a rotted corpse.

Its movements were slow and it seemed to have problems with its equilibrium swaying from side to side as if about to topple, furthermore its skin was a pale white flecked with pink blood stains and even had green pus growing in its more serious wounds.

Although it was looking in his direction it hadn't noticed him, possibly its eyesight was poor as well. It only stood gently swaying with its mouth open and eyes staring blankly at him.

The creature didn't doubt that this adversary would be far easier to deal with then the other but it would be prudent to avoid a confrontation, he couldn't be sure how many more where over there.

The creature doubled back to the door he used to enter this corridor then took a left continuing down this bare passageway.

To his chagrin the corridor ended with another split decision, ahead was a single door and to his left was another route.

This route was more like a tunnel then a passageway, the lighting had completely died within and its arched roof only added to the gloom.

Worse at the end was the zombie he had spied earlier, to his surprise and suspicion it was now facing this way but still made no movement just continued to sway.

Glaring momentarily at the zombie the creature looked across at the door before him, he could just make out light through its grimy window and the door itself was open a fraction indicating it wasn't locked.

'Of course there could be another of those things in there' his subconscious reminded him. He nodded in agreement.

Still he wanted to explore this place and the previous room he had investigated had gained him clothes, a possible escape plan and funky plant stuff.

'And a pleasurable touch session' his subconscious teased. The creature blushed.

"Yes… well let's think how to get inside without drools over there spotting us" He hissed in embarrassment.

He paused reviewing his thoughts and words over the last minute and then slapped himself, why am I having a conversation with myself?

Doubling back again he came to the point where he first spotted the zombie, to his relief it was still there and was still looking in his previous direction. Looking round himself he moved over to the stack of rusted scaffolds where the other zombie had been hiding and started to rummage around.

He grinned at the few rusted cans he found, two were drink cans and one was a large paint tin, all empty though.

Stepping round the corner he took aim and threw the first small can, to his humiliation it fell miserably short and the noise did not attract the zombies attention. The second fell right next to the dead things feet but was ignored, he threw his hands up in frustration.

Hefting the paint can he took careful aim and chucked it strongly, the paint can soared through the air and smacked right into the side of the zombies head.

The creature laughed as the zombie almost fell over at the impact; it righted itself and then slowly turned to face him. It squinted at the paint can as if unsure what had just happened then looked in his direction.

"Hi there!" The creature shouted, waving in amusement at the startled look on the zombie.

Noticing him at last the zombie gave a dull groan and stretched out its arms towards him, shuffling forward as fast as its legs would allow.

This wasn't very fast at all.

The creature smiled as the zombie hobbled like an old man towards him, he nearly laughed out loud when it stepped on the drinks can that had fell short and almost tripped.

Waiting until it had got a fair distance the creature backed off, putting on a burst of speed and heading for the room he wanted to explore. Rushing through the corridors he was confident the zombie would get confused and go back to its previous post.

He reached the door looking round he couldn't see the undead but straining his ears he could still hear it moving ponderously around the passageways.

Holding his breath in apprehension he gentle pulled the door open releasing a sigh when the door made no real noise, slipping inside he carefully shut it behind him then punched the air in triumph.

Turning he did a bow to his rapt audience smiling at his clever deception, opening his eyes and looking upon his imaginary audience the creature froze at yet another image of horror before him.

This room appeared to be another form of lab, supercomputers, a desk and cabinets were to his far left and before him were a group of surgeon's table and medical equipment.

And on the table was another corpse hideously ravaged and bathed in blood, the creature swallowed but overcoming his revulsion he stepped closer in morbid fascination.

Firstly the body was that of a man and he grimaced as he saw it was completely nude, secondly its arms and legs were spread-eagled and strapped to the table. Eyeing the look of terror still frozen on the mans features and trying to ignore it the creature examined the rest of the body. The chest appeared to had been ripped open and the rips pulled apart exposing the sopping innards, the creatures face screwed up in disgust as he counted most of the internal organs missing… possibly eaten by the mans killers.

Judging by the severity of the wounds and the general mess this was most likely not done by a human although… the creature frowned, perhaps it had been done by someone crazed enough.

'I'm getting better at this dead body stuff, I'm not throwing up yet' the creature grimaced as his stomach did another painful clench, 'although perhaps I'm not far off!'

Shaking his head in pity for the dead man, (and inwardly praying something like that doesn't happen to him) the creature stalked over to the rest of the room.

Moving over to the desk he ignored the paperwork for the moment and instead began to press a few keys on the computer squatting on the desk. After finding the power button he stared incomprehensibly at the lines of machine code running across the screen and then blinked as a password screen popped up.

Spending a few moments typing random words the creature gave a sniff of annoyance, 'nothing goes my way here' he thought moodily.

Idly thumping through the paperwork he couldn't find much else here he could understand, a lot was time index's, notes on feeding schedules, times for meetings etc.

He paused as he found something of note, a small memo about some specimen the scientists were working on.

The creature's blood ran cold as he read about this monster that the scientists here had made, the memo confirmed his suspicions that this T-virus caused the dead to rise back to their feet, the implications of this were incredible.

A virus that could reanimate dead flesh?

Reading more he found that this was merely a by-product of its true function, ('some by-product' he thought in disgust) apparently the virus was meant to mutate its host making them stronger, faster and with improved healing. Engrossed in the writing he found that the scientists found it difficult to make T-virus creatures they could control, most died and became zombies but the few that survived lost their minds and mutated beyond recognition.

The memo was centred on a new zombie they christened 'crimson head' a mutation of the zombie… could it be?

The creature rubbed his shoulder in painful memory of his red skinned attacker, the claws and ferocity of that monster were daunting by itself but according to this file the crimson was only a lesser T-virus creature?

Reading more he found that the first crimson was locked in the graveyard of some mansion… a mansion?

The creature paused and looked round himself curiously; the damp walls and cold atmosphere coupled with the lack of windows and the silence confirmed his thoughts.

"Am I underground?" He asked himself thoughtfully; if so it explained a lot… was this laboratory below this mansion? Perhaps people still lived there?

The creature thought more about this and wondered now if it would be a good idea to meet with whatever 'people' lived here if any. The writer of the memo showed no loss or even caring about the other scientists killed by this first crimson head, so why would they want to help me.

'Good question that, perhaps we should ask ourselves what kind of people could make these things down here and this T-virus?' The creature's subconscious said worriedly.

'Right, perhaps I should be wary of who I meet in this place' The creature concurred.

Tail swishing in agreement the creature resolved to be doubly alert once in this 'mansion', he read more but the memo wasn't more helpful then the information he already had.

Pausing in thought he went back to the beginning of the memo and searched for the date, his claw stopped on the number '1998'.

He frowned in concentration, another 'memory' was growing in his subconscious, again he felt that this date was wrong. He couldn't be sure but he felt that the date he last 'remembered' was much lower then this.

Throwing the memo to one side he turned round resting against the wooden desk, he tilted his head in confusion as he spotted another room in front of him with a large glass window misted over with condensation.

Walking over to it he peered in but couldn't make out much, creeping to its doorway he walked in squinting into the dark.

His eyes couldn't pierce the shadows so the creature fumbled around the doorway hoping to come into contact with a lightswitch, his questing claws pressed into something and the room was illuminated.

The creature turned round and then swiftly pressed himself back against the nearest wall releasing a small gasp in shock.

This room was filled with bodies; a whole row of them hanging from the ceiling in plastic body bags all curled round themselves as if in a deep slumber.

Swallowing his fear he stepped forward his gaze slowly moving along the rows of cadavers, most seemed peaceful but one or two seemed to be frozen in twisted poses of suffering, silent screams on their lips.

The creature was horrified by what he was seeing, 'just what were the real monsters here?' he wondered, 'The things prowling the corridors… or the madmen who made them?'

Sickened by the inhumanity of the former scientists here the creature was fast losing his pity for the dead corpses littering this place, it could be called poetic justice that the cruelties they inflicted on others should be unleashed on them.

Looking away he began to investigate a row of lockers that stretched along the right wall finding little but old clothes, 'Imagine getting changed into work clothes with them watching you' he thought in black humour.

Moving along the row the creature found little of interest; he reached the end pausing to examine an old photograph stuck to the inside of the last locker. It portrayed a young woman with fair skin, dark hair cut short and clothed in a long red dress slashed down one side; she was laying along a satin bed with one leg exposed enticingly, the dresses slash falling back up to her thighs.

The creature felt himself blush as he looked into her dark eyes and smiling ruby lips, he didn't doubt that this woman was as exotic and… interesting as she looked.

Tearing it free he turned it over finding some words scribbled across the back in eloquent handwriting.

'So you won't miss me John, take care handsome. Ada.'

There was a fading lipstick image of a kiss on the back and the creature looked on the woman's smiling picture again, whoever this 'John' was he had been very lucky to have someone like Ada.

He gently rang his claws over the image indulging in a little daydreaming… what must it be like to have a lover like this? To have someone so precious in your life?

His smile froze as he looked on his claws again, they were resting on her cheek and he couldn't help but find the image discomforting. He looked to her hands and found then slim, delicate and beautiful just like the rest of her.

'We're nothing like her, we don't even know what we are' His subconscious said sadly.

The creature nodded silently, why would this female… why would 'any' female be interested in him. He wasn't even of the same species and would probably be looked upon as a monster.

Sighing he made to place the picture back but hesitated, if he ever escaped perhaps this 'Ada' would want this picture as John had clearly treasured it and she has the right to know what happened to him.

'Or perhaps you want it for yourself?' his subconscious pointed out.

He blushed, 'Nothing so crude though… it might be nice to look upon a smiling face once and awhile' he defended.

Pocketing it he turned round face to face with the dead again, shaking his head in sorrow he made to leave this site of death when something caught his eye.

At the back of the row of bagged bodies were two smaller figures, looking closer the creature's eyes widened in speechless amazement at what he saw.

The corpses were children; they looked no older then babies judging by their size but even more horrifying was their appearance.

They had purple skin, tiny tails curling round themselves and short stubby claws growing from their podgy hands. For all intends and purposes the two were miniature versions of him!

The creature carefully raised a claw and touched one of the children running his hand gently down its form shivering at how cold the plastic material was, tears blurred his sight as he questioned what this meant.

Were these his family? His brothers… his children? If so why could he not remember them, if they weren't his blood then what were they… what was he?

The body bags each had a tag stuck to them and shaking in anger and sorrow the creature ripped one free examining it closely.

'Specimen 023- birthed successfully and showed promising blending with the Hazard-virus. Unfortunately it rapidly mutated during first year and was lost as a possible bioweapon. The experiment survived for several months after mutation even as its body began to deteriorate due to cellular breakdown. Although failed its prolonged death gave us insights into the 'Hazard' mutations and possible ways to counteract them.

Morphine administered during first month of mutations but the 'Hazard' virus quickly adapted to the drug and Mr Birkin deemed it an unnecessary cost to increase dosage.

023 shot 12th December 1995 after it stopped mutating and continued to deteriorate, order to terminate suspended for two weeks in hope it might show new mutations'

The creature stared at the writing as twin trails of wetness ran down his cheeks… the poor things. His fist clenched crushing the thin tag as his body trembled in barely contained rage.

"The 'specimen', he spat the word, was only a child and they let it suffer for almost a year just for their research?' he hissed in loathing.

His eyes burned as he looked upon the dead children before him, so what if they didn't look human they were living things! Those scientists had no right to play god with their lives!

Reaching for the dead child again he caressed it tenderly hoping against reasons that perhaps its soul could see that one creature at least mourned its death… that one person felt despair for its suffering.

His eyes rang over its body giving a pained gasp at every bruise, every cut, and every twisted stigma that covered its body like a map of pain.

And then an even greater horror came to his sight.

Looking upon its tail he saw a small number '023' tattooed in plain black ink just on the underside of the tail close to were it joined with its body, a terrifying suspicion grew in the creatures mind.

Pulling away he looked down upon his own tail reaching out for it and dragging it close, it resisted almost as if it didn't want him to see.

Tugging harder he carefully turned his tail over and felt all the blood drain from his cheeks, felt an icy claw of crushing despair as he gazed upon the black tattoo on his tail.

The number '025'.

The creatures eyes dimmed as his mind all but collapsed at this revelation, his legs gave and he fell to the floor in a crumpled heap curling up into a foetal ball and rocking gently as he emitted small sobs of sorrow.

He now knew without a shadow of a doubt what he was.

He was just another creature made by the insanity of the humans here.

He was… a monster.

Chapter 3

The survivor.

Within the shadowed forests surrounded the Arkley mountains there were secrets still hidden within the dark canopy of the forests, secrets that humanity should never find yet had a key role in their creation.

One such secret was a mansion hidden deep within the forests invisible to most and with few that remember its existence.

Abandoned for over a year the forest had claimed the manmade structure acting both as its captor and guardian.

For the mansion was inhabited by horrors that were not of this world, certainly Mother Nature had no part in making such monstrosities. Indeed a greater monster named humanity had in their arrogance made these creatures and been unable to control them.

Now the creatures battled amongst themselves for supremacy, this mansion was now the site of an outlandish battle between the nightmares of human imagination.

Within the mansion itself rotted corpses animated by human science shambled through the corridors of their old home feasting on the flesh of anything not of their kind that encountered them.

Outside slavering hounds hunted the forest becoming a feared predator of the woodland creatures as these hellhounds hunted them. In the trees black birds of previously harmless scavenger intent now were motivated by a new instinct to attack and kill any prey they spied, their eyes glowing with red murderous zeal.

In the tunnels that stretched beneath the mansion grounds manmade reptilian hunters patrolled their lands, their pack behaviour and heightened weapons and intellect had made them the uncontested dominant creatures of the land. Although they were besieged by yet another insidious enemy, creatures of silk and venom their minds of alien cunning these spiders also held a large portion of the sewers their ensnaring webs ensuring that travel through these areas was suicide for most.

Of course not all the creatures had packs or had made alliances for their safety, some powerful individuals hunted and fended for themselves and had become feared predators to all the warring factions.

The great snake 'yawn' with her crushing coils and overpowering strength had made her a feared adversary of all the races, even the hunters had learned to fear her evil gaze and venomous fangs.

Within this world of predators another individual had irked out a living in the forest, a human female her body altered long ago by the virus coursing through her veins had the instinct of a born survivor. She had taken everything that both humans and their monsters had thrown at her and still stood strong.

Her name was Lisa and she had long ago given up her humanity to survive in this place, indeed to stay committed to the ideals of a true human was near impossible in this place.

Little did she know that her salvation was soon at hand.

The hunter guzzled the warm steaming flesh on his claws squealing in amazement at his good fortune. The deer had foolishly came close to the mansion grounds, perhaps to feed or maybe curiosity? Regardless the hunter was lucky to have spotted it first before any others and had quietly stalked his prey and killed it before it had time to escape.

Ripping a leg free the hunter bit deep into it chewing on flesh and fur and shivering in pleasure at the sweet taste, unafflicted flesh was hard to come by here.

So engrossed on feeding the hunter didn't hear the metallic rustling slowly moving up the path where it had ambushed the deer, the rusted gates of the graveyard before it creaked open and the hunter started, leaping to his feet defensively.

The creature that hobbled onto the path and stood a few meters from him was completely beyond the hunter's knowledge, it swayed gently its chains dragging along the ground and its amber eyes glaring in the hunter's direction.

It looked like a human to the hunter and one that was heavily hampered judging by the chains round its legs and the large block holding its hands in check, thus it should be easy prey.

Yet there was something unnerving about this human, the hunter felt a little apprehensive about the many faces draped around the creatures head, the sightless eyes and open mouths made even he uneasy. The insane amber eyes that stared directly into his own were having strange effects on him; he couldn't stop his claws from shaking.

Shaking his head furiously the hunter shrieked his outrage; this was just a human! They were no match for his kind!

Rearing up to his full height the hunter roared showing off his powerful physique, his scales as strong as steel his claws of incredible sharpness and his wicked fangs. To his annoyance the human did not cower as expected instead it rolled its eyes as if it was bored by the display.

'Well! Ill make it show respect for its evolutionary superiors!' He thought angrily.

Screeching his species characteristic cry he charged at the human his claws extended to tear it apart, to his surprise the human gave its own scream of challenge and began to rush him as fast as its chains would allow.

Once close enough the hunter tensed his muscles, leaping into the air moving to slam into and crush this human, and rip it apart.

As he leap the human brought back its bound arms like a bat and, as the hunter fell, swung in a powerful upwards swing smashing into the hunters chest.

The force of the blow was incredible and the hunter gave a startled squeal as he was thrown back by the hit slamming into the ground in a tangled heap.

Quickly righting himself he glared at the human more cautious now, the human stepped forward and the hunter moved back unsure how to attack now.

The human began to shake and it hunched over even more almost to the point of collapse, it convulsed violently and the hunter wondered if it was going to be sick.

With a scream the human shot back to its feet its body fully extending, the hunter jumped back with surprise as six long tentacles erupted from the humans back snapping through the air with sensuous motions.

It was too much for the hunter and giving one last snarl at the human he ran off into the undergrowth… perhaps the clan had something else to eat?

Lisa shivered as she shrugged off the last vestiges of pain that her tentacles had caused; the pain was a minor discomfort for scaring off a predator.

Shuffling forward she stared hungrily at the prize of this short battle, the body of the deer had long gone cold but Lisa didn't care… she had eaten worse and survived.

Wrapping some tentacles around its remaining legs Lisa dragged it along behind her as she moved slowly up the path to her cabin. Her ears and eyes remained alert as she scanned the trees around her for trouble, the blood trail the deer was leaving behind it would be a beacon for any creatures wandering the woods.

She reached the silent watcher and nodded at him amiably, although his face never showed any emotion it was a comfort to see some human features not rotted and decayed.

She noticed that the forest was again trying to claim the statue and she spent a few moments fighting back the thick undergrowth, a waste of time to some but Lisa was not going to allow the only human (even if just stone) she had taken from her.

Finished she reached out for his face her hands gently running over its cheeks, its eyes, its lips… doing this reminded her of times long gone when she did this to her mother, when she felt comfort and security in her arms.

Giving the statue a friendly pat Lisa resumed her journey, the darkness pressed down all around her and the chirps and occasional screams of something dying echoed through the forest but she paid it no heed. Lisa had long ago stopped being the child who feared the darkness.

At last the lights of her cabin were in sight; she gave a tired sigh as she spied her sanctuary.

The creatures of the forest had long ago learned not to enter this place, it had taken several months and more savage fights then Lisa cared to remember but she had eventually drilled in the point that this was her territory.

After a days hunt with surprising success (she grinned at the dead deer and licked her lips) she was looking forward to eating enough to fill her stomach for once, and then curling up beside a warm fire.

'Which reminds me I better take stock of how much firewood I have left later' She thought.

Reaching her front door she pushed gently against it finding it firmly locked.

'Good nothing tried to get in'

Extending a tentacle she pulled aside a loose board above the doorframe and her tentacle snaked in, after a few moments fumbling she moved the latch and the door opened.

Dragging the deer inside she slammed the door shut and moved into the 'living' room.

'Home sweet home' She thought glumly as she stared at the old and filthy cabin, cobwebs and dirt choked the place and the wind howled through the air given entrance by the many holes in the structure.

That it had fallen into a severe state of disrepair was undeniable, that it was filthy and infested with bugs and mice were beyond question. But it had served Lisa faithfully as her shelter for over a year and besides… 'Mice make a welcome food source if hunting goes bad' Lisa mused.

'Speaking of food' Lisa dragged the dead deer over to the fire feeling her body pleasantly warmed by the heat, dumping the body she hobbled over to her storage box in the next room.

Just up a small flight of stairs was the next room of the cabin, a disused bed covered in dust and moth bitten sheets occupied the left wall and a table with a typewriter and some of Lisa's writings were to the right. A large metal trunk was at the back and Lisa hefted it open sorting through her stuff for what she was looking for.

Some old clothes… herbs… notes etc, Aha! Lisa pulled a large metal poker from the trunk; she examined it for a moment then gave it a quick clean with her rags.

Heading back to the living room she moved closer to the deer looking on it thoughtfully, after a few moments her tentacles stabbed down into its flank ripping away a great strip of flesh.

Blood flowed freely and Lisa held the meat above her hungrily drinking the blood that dripped from the meat, shivering in delight at the taste she raised the poker and skewered the meat on the metal point.

Turning to the fire she hummed to herself as she held the meat in the flames the flesh hissing and steaming, as it was cooked.

'I feel like deer tonight, like deer tonight!' Lisa grinned and licked her lips as she prepared her first true meal in two weeks.

Lisa sighed blissfully as she rested beside her fireplace; it had been so long since she had felt pleasantly full that she had almost forgotten the feeling.

She frowned as her stomach rumbled and a dull ache began to radiate from the area but she ignored it, doubtless the meat even cooked had not been healthy but the virus would help her digest.

She sighed and laid her head on her arms, at times like this she couldn't help but wonder whether she was cursed or blessed.

She examined her surroundings numbly, she had long ago given up being sad for where she was forced to live but she could still remember what it felt like… those first few months had been terrible but she had survived.

She snorted derisively, 'survived'? True she had withstood everything Umbrella had done to her, she shivered as she remembered the horrible things they did to her body and mind, and the attacks of the monsters of this place.

But was it all worth it? What did she have left anymore but her life?

She looked down upon herself and shuddered in disgust at her ragged and dirty clothing, her ruined and bound form… she couldn't even call herself human anymore.

Her tentacles surrounded her trying to comfort her but Lisa pushed them away angrily hot tears filling her eyes… 'What hope do I have of ever escaping all this?' she thought bitterly, 'Is it my fate to survive all this and then to die here all alone? Either at the claws of the monsters or by old age?'

She reached under her 'masks' wincing as the metal block bit into her wrists and tenderly ran her fingers over her face.

Her skin she could feel was thin and smooth, no blemishes or wounds… certainly no rotting flesh. Her hair had grown thick and long covering her face but that too felt strong though dirty, just as the skin of her arms looked young and healthy although clearly emaciated.

She didn't know how old she was anymore, in the cold white halls of the labs she had never seen sunlight or even a calendar and her captors had not been kind enough to tell her the date. With no sense of time only her own body's changing form was able to tell her she had aged… and as she aged certain people took notice of her changing form.

She quickly crushed the memory, that was something that should remain buried… regardless she had no idea of her age. She had keep a rough calendar once free within the forest and had summarised that a year and five months had passed but that couldn't tell her how old she was.

The one thing that confused her and her captors too was that as time passed the researchers aged, the first ones who had worked with her father had become old men to Lisa's eyes yet she remained unchanged, she still looked like a young woman.

'I certainly don't feel old, she mused, but then I've not had a real life to experience and grow old in'

Still it didn't matter anymore in time she wouldn't ask such questions of herself anymore… not anymore.

She rolled unto her back her tentacles shifting to more comfortable positions. She was finding it harder to think like 'Lisa' and not what the virus wanted her to think.

When in the forests she had to think like the monsters to survive, to become an animal to make the most of her senses and keep one step ahead of her enemies… unfortunately it was getting harder and harder to pull back from this state.

At times 'Lisa' would wake and find herself in her cabin with no idea how she got there, or out in the forest somewhere. It scared her this erosion of her mind but a part of her wanted this.

'Humanity has nothing for you anymore Lisa… give in to the wild and survive the only way possible. You cant be a human in this world' A voice had began to whisper within her mind and Lisa was tempted.

What was the point in clinging to her humanity? There was no use for it in this place and all it was doing was holding her back.

But as she thought this a part of Lisa rebelled against this, if she surrendered her humanity then it would be as if the bad men had won, they would have broken her completely and she knew she was stronger then that.

'I'm better then that' She thought.

She sighed and sat up her tentacles shaking in worry.

'Its only a matter of time anyway, I'm on the edge of my sanity here and I don't think ill be able to pull back from that cliff next time' She thought sadly.

She was broken from her depression as the light in the cabin began to dim; she looked to the fire and saw it was starting to die.

'Better get some more wood then' Lisa sighed as she got to her feet and walked out of the cabin.

"Back into the never ending nightmare that is my life" She whispered sadly.

Chapter 4.

A name is taken and a path is chosen.

The creature had managed to drag himself from that room of death and was currently curled up in a ball below the glass window to that room of revelations.

He couldn't stop the tears, nor the painful sobs… why did this have to be? Why did fate have to be so cruel?

On reflection he was amazed he hadn't come to this conclusion earlier, he was 'born' in a giant test tube, his form was radically different to a humans and his strength and senses were far superior.

'But that's some comfort isn't it? That we're stronger?' His subconscious tried to reassure him.

The creature snarled and smashed his fist into the ground, 'No its not!' he thought in anguish, 'I'm just another 'bioweapon' made by the humans here, I don't have my own life I'm just a… a thing! Just like all the other 'things' out there!'

"I don't have anything… no friends, no family… I'm alone here and all I was wanted for was to be a weapon" he muttered sadly.

'So? What does it matter what we were. What matters now is what we become! Now that we know the truth' His subconscious argued hotly.

The creature frowned in thought, there are some good points there but something else was troubling him.

'Who are you… really? I'm getting really confused by this double act in my head'

Silence.

'Answer me!' the creature mentally hissed.

'I'm, his subconscious hesitated, I'm you… the you before'

'Before?' The creature asked confused.

'Yes before we were changed, the scientist tried to erase me but something of us remains in me… the before us'

'So I was right, I did have a another life in this body!' The creature thought in astonishment.

'Yes I'm what's left of that life, the personality and ideals of that person we were'

'Then who was I? The creature asked.

'We, a moments pause for thought, we don't remember… like I said our minds have been damaged and all I am is echoes of the past'

The creature thought about this, rolling over to his back and bringing his hand to his head, 'This is crazy' he thought.

'I assure you we are sane'

"I'm schizophrenic!" He exclaimed in alarm.

'We are not, his subconscious said irritably, I have no control over you only suggestion'

'ok?'

'Think of me as an emotional support, the part of you that refuses to give up'

The creature nodded somewhat relieved and surprisingly cheered up slightly.

"Ok 'inner support' what now?" he asked.

'We forsake the path the scientists tried to force on us and make our own destiny… and we get the hell out of here' His subconscious gave a mental grin.

The creature rose to his feet stretching out the mild cramp from curling up so long, wiping away his tears he considered his options.

'I need to find this escape chute and it's near this emergency exit where ever that is'

He sniffed the air noting the stillness and lack of air currents, 'ok I'm underground, the exit is probably on ground floor so maybe those stairs would be a good bet?' he mused.

Patting himself down and finding everything secure ('photo, herb, note check!') the creature made to leave when something else came to mind, he looked down at his tail staring in discomfort at the tattoo '025'.

'I don't want to be some 'specimen' anymore… I don't want to be called 025' He thought rebelliously.

'Then lets have our own name' His subconscious said.

The creature tapped his chin with a claw looking around himself for ideas, he needed something… profound, something eccentric and personal.

'Hercules?' His subconscious smirked.

'Very funny, umm…' he blinked as he heard something rustling in time to his claws motions.

Looking down he saw that the dead child's tag was still stuck to one of his claws, ripping it free he eyed it and then his face darkened with anger. He made to throw it away when something caught his eye.

'Hazard virus' he read, obviously this was the virus coursing through his veins… it was ultimately responsible for his creation.

'We were the only ones who blended with it' His subconscious reminded him.

He stared at the word whispering it to himself, "Hazard… hazard…"

'Hmmm?' he mulled it over.

Sounds nice, different, somewhat confrontational and unique… like me?

"Hazard I like it, from now I'm called Hazard!" He smiled pleased with his new name.

He struck a pose, trying to look swath and regal while holding an imaginary wineglass before him.

"The names ous, Hazard… ous" he chuckled.

'Very funny' His subconscious said dryly.

Hazard poked his head cautiously out of the door, opening it a fraction more he spied the area seeing no zombies present. Though they could be hiding?

'Ok head for the stairs, stop for nothing' Hazard told himself.

Stepping out he took the right corridor heading for the stair junction; he stopped when he spied the zombie back at its original post.

The zombie had spotted him too and giving a triumphant groan shuffled unsteadily towards him its arms outstretched.

'Stop for nothing!' His subconscious yelled.

Hazard charged forward, feet pounding the ground and claws ready, no way was some rotted corpse gonna stand in his way.

Within reach of the zombie it lunged forward arms moving to grab his neck, Hazard ducked down below the grasp and pushed forward and up easily lifting the zombie off its feet and throwing it to the floor. Wasting a second stamping on its face he carried on reached the doors to the stairs.

He quickly opened the barred door shutting it behind him and fumbling with the lock, he just managed to lock it when the zombie reached the door.

It threw itself at the bars its arm reaching for hazard, he jumped back narrowly avoiding the outstretched hand and thwarted the zombie rattled the doors bars in vain.

"That was close," Hazard said breathlessly.

Turning away from the raging zombie Hazard slowly ascended the stairs ears alert for any unusual noises.

Once at the top Hazard eyed his surroundings critically, this floor was just as disused as the previous and appeared to have been similarly abandoned.

To his right was another short passageway with a set of doors and some junk at the end, before him the corridor continued on and disappeared round a left corner.

'Quick decision'

Hazard moved forward ignoring the double doors, he reached the turning and found that it led to a single door with a dirty window in the door.

Shrugging he took a few steps forward when an interesting smell made him stop, he breathed in deeply finding the smell oddly minty and sweet.

Looking around he saw several potted plants placed to one side of the corridor directly under a bright light; he kneeled down beside them curiously.

The plants were small stems with bright green leaves growing from multiple branches, hazard was surprised at how bright and healthy they looked… a small amount of life still survived down here it seemed.

The smell the plants gave off was familiar to Hazard and he snapped his claws in recollection, digging into his jeans he pulled out the packet of crushed plant matter. He didn't know what the red stuff was but the green must be one of these herbs pulped up!

But what was their purpose? There had to be some significance to them being pulped and placed in an airtight bag.

'Perhaps they're food?' He wondered.

Thinking of this his stomach gave a pained grumble and Hazard was reminded that he hadn't actually eaten anything since he awoke.

'How longs it been? An hour or two maybe?' He mused.

Picking up a pot he carefully plucked a leaf from the plant holding it up suspiciously.

He shrugged, 'here goes nothing' and threw it in his mouth chewing carefully. His face screwed up at the strange taste; he wasn't sure whether it was good or bad as his taste buds kept arguing on what to make of it.

He swallowed quickly bracing himself for any pain but his stomach gave a content gurgle as it began digesting and asked for more.

Eyeing the herb a bit more appreciatively now he pulled it free of the pot, spending a few seconds wiping away the dirt form its roots, and began taking bites from it.

Hazard stayed in that spot for a few minutes as he sampled all the herbs, all tasted roughly the same having a strong minty taste.

Hazard wiping his mouth and jumped to his feet patting his stomach happily, it felt good to have something in his belly.

Hazard had moved on and reached the door when something else came to his attention; his shoulder though it had stopped bleeding had been giving off a dull painful throbbing since the attack, which Hazard had been largely dealing with.

Now though the pain had completely stopped, not just in his shoulder but all his other small bruises and cuts dealt by the crimson had stopped transmitting pain.

Bouncing about and stretching his limps Hazard was amazed at not just the lack of pain but good feelings coming from the rest of his body.

'Just what was in that plant?' he wondered in astonishment.

Obviously the herb had some medical properties; pleased with this discovery Hazard made a mental note to collect any more he found and stepped through the door eyes alert.

Hazard frowned as he entered this next room, it was thankfully empty but was much colder then the rest of the labs.

Hazard shivered as a cold breeze lashed him but his eyes sparkled with hope at the feeling, fresh air!

Sniffing deeply Hazard smiled, as he smelled the scents of the outside world on the breeze, he spotted a ladder at the end of the room and hoped that was the way out.

He ran forward skidding to a halt as another item caught his attention, a large trunk similar to the one where he found his clothes was against the left wall with a typewriter to the right.

'What are these, storage rooms? Workstations?' Hazard wondered.

He checked the typewriter but it hadn't been used for a long time judging by the dust and no paperwork was apparent.

He eyed the chest thoughtfully; maybe this one held something else of interest?

Moving his hands over it he found it unlocked and didn't seem to have anything threatening within, with a shrug he gripped the lip and threw it open.

His eyes widened and he gasped at the sight before him, carefully reaching in Hazard picked up the object within and held it up for inspection.

It was a large knife but certainly not of the kitchen variety, its hilt and grip was bound with dark leather straps that felt cool and strong to the touch.

Hazard stared in something like awe at the blade itself, a foot long with a serrated edge it was a deadly weapon and its metal though not shiny was dull and practical… the colour of a weapon intended for use not display.

Running the tip of a claw down the blade he hissed as the metal easily cut into the hard bone, despite being unused for possibly years the blade remained incredibly sharp.

Hazard saw some writing carved into the length of the blade and squinted as he read it 'Reinforced carbon-alloy' and further along 'Umbrella Military Department'.

Smiling happily a his new lethal acquisition Hazard gently placed the combat knife next to the typewriter and examined the other items in the chest.

There was a thick brown leather belt with several pouches for carrying items and a sheath that was probably for the knife, Hazard pulled it out pawing it inquisitively.

The leather was firm and strong, obviously the thick metal chest had protected it from the damp atmosphere. The buckle caught his attention as it depicted a stylised umbrella made from steel.

Hazard frowned as he stared at the umbrella; there was something significant about this…

Picking up the knife he examined the markings again, this umbrella had been responsible for the knife and probably made many more weapons… what kind of name was 'umbrella' for a weapons manufacture anyway?

'Perhaps its not known for being a weapons maker' Hazards subconscious suggested.

He sighed in confusion as he carefully placed the knife within its sheath and then began to put the belt on; perhaps this umbrella had some ties to this lab.

He frowned as a new thought came to him, these things here where obviously intended to be weapons ('as was I' Hazard grimaced in disgust) maybe this 'umbrella' wanted to buy them? Or provided security or arms to the people here?

Hazard shook his head dispelling his thoughts; he could ask himself questions once he was somewhere safer.

'In other words anywhere but here' his subconscious said.

'My thoughts exactly' Hazard agreed: then felt a mild headache at the resulting cerebral confusion.

Hazard had reached the top of the ladder after a few minutes climbing, ('How bloody deep do these secret labs need to be?') he carefully pulled himself onto the next level his new weapon drawn and clutched tightly in a clawed hand.

He remained semi-crouched with his ears and eyes alert as he carefully sniffed the air, unfortunately he wasn't getting much just stale air with a hint of corruption on the breeze.

After a few moments he rose and stalked wearily forward, after a few steps he found this room to be not only empty but also very small.

A massive set of thick metal doors were a few paces from the ladder, Hazards eyes shone with hope as he read the writing on a large plate on the door.

'Heliport exit- only to be opened in an emergency' Hazard glared at the writing and then the doors, his need to get out of here was certainly worthy of being an emergency!

He took hold of the door handles and gave them an experimental jiggle, the doors didn't even move in the slightest.

Hazard growled and then braced himself against the steel doors, "let's see how strong you are" he whispered before pushing against the doors.

Hazards muscles bulged and he gritted his teeth as he strained against the doors but despite the (supposedly) enormous pressure he placed on them they wouldn't move.

Exhaling and stepping away Hazard gave the doors a swift kick in annoyance before turning away, obviously he wasn't getting through there anytime soon.

Moving deeper into the room he found an elevator shaft at the other end of the room. He clapped his hands in relief when he saw the elevator was still down here.

Of course eyeing it apprehensively Hazard was unsure as to its usefulness; there was no whirring of gears or other machine noises to indicate it was operational. Also the caged frame of the elevator was heavily rusted and like everything else hadn't been used for years apparently.

Opening the cage door Hazard stepped inside examining a large control box that should operate the elevator. The controls had some interesting buttons and levers but after spending some time pressing and pulling them all nothing had happened.

Hazard hung his head in defeat as he stepped out of the cage, his tail shutting the door behind him, 'what now?' he wondered.

He pulled the tattered note from his jeans and consulted it again; ok so apparently this chute was somewhere in this room… but where?

Hazard searched the room his eyes easily piercing the darkness but apart from the locked doors and elevator the walls were bare with just old piping and wires adorning them.

'Was the scientist incorrect?' Hazard thought in mounting panic, if there's no chute how else was he meant to escape?

"Think, THINK! Is there anything else here that I cant see?" Hazard yelled at himself.

He moved over the walls more carefully running his claws over them, sniffing and listening intently.

He had almost searched the whole room and was about to give up when he smelled something from one of the dark corners of the room.

He breathed deep smelling moisture, rot and fresh air. He pressed his ear against the wall and could faintly hear the trickle of water.

Pulling back Hazard eagerly examined the area and found that a large sheet of metal had been bolted over this section of wall… almost as if to hide something.

Hazard tapped the metal with a claw hearing an affirmative echo from an empty space behind, his face set into a determined scowl as he raised his claws.

'Nothing is stopping me from escape, nothing!'

He roared as he smashed his fist into the metal, his claws easily piercing the plate, he slashed and pulled tearing the metal sheet from the wall furiously.

Snarling he ripped the metal free and threw it to one side exposing a large dark hole in the wall.

Hazards hair rippled as a strong breeze tugged at the strands and he breathed deep of the pungent scent, if this pipe didn't lead to a sewer he didn't want know what else could smell so bad.

'Freedom never smelt so good though' Hazard grinned as he stepped closer squinting into the tunnel, he was slightly nervous as he couldn't see very far into the tunnel and god knows what would happen if he went inside.

'Do we have any other choice?' His subconscious reminded him.

'None what so ever, but really could it be worse then this place?' Hazard joked nervously.

'Quite possibly'

Hazard frowned, 'Look stop making me more nervous I'm going in ok?'

'I'm just saying' His subconscious said meekly.

Hazard took a breath to psyche himself up and then climbed into the chute holding on to the rim and balancing just on the edge of the slope.

"Here goes nothing" he said resolutely then threw himself into the darkness.

Chapter 5.

The underground.

The sewers were named as such by the scientists and workers of the mansion as the network of caves had long served as a drop off point for garbage and refuse, whether bodies or more mundane trash.

The caves were a varied assortment of lichen covered rooms filled with moisture of both large pools and smaller streams. The little manmade equipment still left here had fallen into severe disrepair with only the most well crafted or perhaps stubborn machines still functioning.

Apart from the steady plink of falling water the sewers were eerily quiet, the air was still and moved lazily from room to room while what few creatures lived here learned to move silently or become a swift meal.

This place of darkness and rock was home to two factions of the nightmare lands, the hunters had long ago taken the greater part of the caves as their home, the moisture and darkness suiting their reptilian species.

The giant arachnids though holding a smaller area then the hunters had long proved to be immovable, their lands were strewn with trapping webs and the screams of the dead and dying echoed in those caves accompanied by the spiders hideous chittering language.

Thus Hazards cursing entrance into this world was heard by many attentive ears.

"Shit! Ow! Fuck! Ai! Bastard! Ouch!"

Hazard spat and cursed, as his journey down the chute became increasingly painful, he was suddenly acutely aware that perhaps, just perhaps, going down that hole hadn't been a good idea.

Another tight corner and Hazard clenched his teeth in agony as his rips got a painful smack before gravity gripped him.

There was a strong sensation of free fall and Hazards sense of touch was screaming he wasn't touching anything. He braced himself and was soon rewarded when he hit the floor again forcing a pained gasp from him.

Another minute of tumbling and turning in the dark and Hazard spotted a light ahead that he was rapidly approaching.

'Oh no'

The hunter had been stalking this area of the sewers for a few hours in the hopes of finding a meal but more so as a place to vent his frustrations.

The hunter could not believe the strength of that human that had stole his kill, how was it possible that a mere human and a female at that had bested him!

He had pleaded his case to the clan elders (which had consisted of growls, chirps and hand motions) and had asked for back up to hunt down that female but he had been overruled, it was as if the elders feared the girl as they seemed agitated by his tale.

He kicked a loose rock and scored the wall in anger, how could the clan allow this slight to go unpunished? In the past the chimeras and spiders had made pushes against his species and such assaults were met with vicious counterattacks.

And now they huddled in their caves afraid to face a single human? The old cowards!

The hunter growled and flexed his claws… things would be different if he was the alpha.

His daydreams of the power, prestige and breeders such a position would grant him were a source of constant musings, the alpha was getting old now and should be replaced by younger hunters… for the good of the clan of course.

So engrossed in his thoughts the hunter hadn't heard the increasingly urgent swearing that had began to build up in the passageway, he blinked and looked around in confusion as Hazard dropped from the ceiling above him.

'What the hell!'

Hazard had been desperately trying to stop his fall but the wet and slimy chute had allowed no purchase for his claws, now with the ground rapidly coming to meet him Hazard braced himself for the impact.

Therefor he was surprised when he fell on something surprisingly soft and moist and didn't gain any broken bones.

Still the impact had hurt and Hazard lay dazed for a moment until it began to dawn on him the thing he was laying on was moving.

And growling…

When a webbed scaly hand complete with long claws swiped the air Hazard didn't need any more motivation to move, scrambling off the thing he jumped to safety hissing as cold water lapped at his feet.

Hazard turned examining the thing he had fallen on with trepidation; the creature had struggled back to its feet and now was glaring at Hazard with extreme aggravation.

Hazard was strangely reminded of a toad, if a toad had grown to almost six feet high, walked on two feet and gained a substantially larger muscle mass.

Its body was heavily built and squat, its legs were short but strongly muscled, in contrast its arms almost reached the ground and Hazard was oddly aware that this thing most be able to do a real killer of a clothesline.

The monster chirped a high pitched sound and took a step forward, its red eyes glowed with menace.

Hazard had the urge to run but as he thought this he was acutely reminded that this was what he had been doing since he first woke up, why should he fear these 'things'? Was he not a weapon too?

Hazards eyes narrowed in anger, he'd been through a lot today and he really was not in the mood to be hunted and chased.

He had a lot of anger and frustration in him at the moment and he was now going to work some of it off on this foolish creature trying to scare him.

Hazard snarled back at the creature his hand quickly drawing his knife and brandishing it. He lashed his tail and rose up to his full height.

'Just try and kill me' Hazard steeled himself.

The monster screeched and lunged at Hazard, its short legs propelling it forward in a massively long leap and Hazard barely had time to block before it was on him.

Hazard yelled as the two collided, the creature knocking him back with the force of its strike, it hissed at Hazard crouching down for another go.

But Hazard was ready this time, the creature lunged and Hazard spun round lashing out with a kick, his clawed foot scoring its face and throwing it against the tunnel wall.

He creature sprang to its feet its breath coming out in angered pants as dark green blood flowed from the gouge in its cheek, hate and surprise shone in its eyes.

Hazard roared and charged closing the distance quickly and slashing at the creature's chest with his knife, it moved sinuously to one side dodging the blade.

Almost too fast for Hazard to react, the creature swung its fist at hazards head trying to claw his face.

Hazard ducked, the fist missing by inches and with its guard weakened Hazard speared his free hand into its stomach his claws easily piercing the scales and ripping bloodied lines across its flesh.

The creature shrieked and darted back out of Hazards range, it made the mistake of examining its wounds and Hazard lunged at the creature his blade held low and ready.

He almost struck a vital spot, the enemy saw his attack a second too late and moved to block, it screamed, its chirps becoming even more high pitched, as Hazards blade stabbed into its arm and erupted from the other side.

The creature pushed Hazard away desperately; it's remaining hand lashing out forcing Hazard to retreat, he danced back his knife dripping with the enemies blood and eyes glowing with anticipation of a kill.

The creature had had enough though; as Hazard lunged it kicked up water in his face, the dirty liquid reaching Hazards eyes and blinded him momentarily.

Hazard pawed his eyes and retreated back to avoid a counterattack, his eyes cleared and Hazard readied himself but when he looked down the sewer tunnel his adversary had gone.

'Damn! I was looking forward to killing it' Hazard mentally cursed.

The hunter ran while Hazard was distracted, down the tunnel and easily leaping the large chasm that split the floor. He opened the door at the end escaping through and vowing revenge for what that new creature did to his arm.

He would get payback; with or without the clan he would have revenge!

Hazard wiped his blade on his lab coat grimacing in disgust at the horrible smell the toad-creatures blood gave off.

'Maybe that's why nothing eats them if they smell and probably taste so bad?' Hazard thought as he sheathed his knife. Now he had yet another 'monster' to add to his growing list of horrors made by the humans here, obviously that thing was probably a more advanced weapon then the 'zombies'.

'But was it once human or an animal?' Hazard wondered. If it was a human then it was amazing how much those scientists could change a human's body.

'Thankfully we are not that extreme' Hazards subconscious said.

Hazard shook his head, 'perhaps not as horrible but I am extreme, it was strong but I was stronger and it was definitely surprised at that' he thought worriedly.

Hazard dismissed his thoughts, all he was doing was upsetting himself and he needed to think where to go next.

Hazard spent a few moments stretching and working out his kinks from the fight before he finally appraised his surroundings.

The passageway he was in was little more then a rocky tunnel carved somewhat corridor shaped. The walls were covered in moss and lichen with small streams of water flowing from various cracks. The dripping was a constant noise and the water that covered the floor was freezing and at least ankle deep.

Thankfully there was lighting produced by a system of yellow bulbs that stretched across the roof, some had died but the majority still worked though, even as he looked Hazard could see many were flickering dangerous.

"Well it's a bit better then the labs… there's fresh air" Hazard said brightly while eyeing his surroundings unimpressively.

Hazard looked up at the chute where had come from, in the flickering light and hidden amongst the jagged rocks it was difficult to even see it.

Hazard saw he would have to jump to reach it and even if he did he doubted he would be able to get a grip inside or climb up the long pipe.

'Aw well don't wanna go back to that place anyway' Hazard though dismissively.

Looking down both ends of the tunnel he saw a door and a ladder behind him and a junction in front, considering his options Hazard carefully moved forward wanting to know all the tunnel before leaving it.

Hazard winced as the sharp rocks and cold water were playing havoc on his bare feet, by the time he had got to the junction he was sure he had been cut once or twice and he was finding it difficult to feel his toes.

Hazard hummed in interest as he saw another one of those large metal chests beyond the junction as well as a typewriter, beyond that was a door but there seemed to be a large hole in the floor between him and it.

Moving to the chest he tapped it curiously, perhaps this one had something of use in it too? The others had a good track record.

Opening it he found himself with some more clothes to play with, pulling an item free he found it to be some kind of thick overall the kind builders would use.

He turned it this way and that hissing in annoyance when he found it would be far to small for him, it looked like this one had been made for a midget it seemed.

'Just my luck, the only clothes left were made for dwarfs!' Hazard thought irritably, he was about to throw it away when an idea came to him.

He pawed the overalls finding that they were made of thick leather hide, the material was very strong and resisted Hazards mild attempts to pierce it with his claws.

He closed the chest and sat on it moving to a comfortable position; he examined his feet finding that although he could feel them again and the older cuts were healing it was still painful.

Hazard thought it odd that the small cuts had healed so quickly, his subconscious told him that it should have taken much longer but Hazard dismissed it, 'the quick healing is just another quirk of my existence' Hazard thought amused.

Still although the rocks couldn't do serious harm it was bloody uncomfortable not to mention cold so it would be nice to have some shoes…

Hazard held the overalls up for examination; perhaps he could make some makeshift footwear?

Drawing his knife Hazard got to work.

Hazard waved his feet to and fro proudly viewing his own brand of footwear made for sewer expeditions!

He had cut some large pads out of the overalls to go on his soles finding the thick material adequate protection; of course the trouble was how to keep them on his feet?

He had solved this by cutting some long strips from what was left of the overall and tying three round each foot to hold the pads in place.

And then to ensure that the straps wouldn't come loose he made two more strips and used them to tie up the straps on each foot… it would keep the 'shoes' from falling apart but it would probably take hours to get the things off.

Hazard hopped off the chest and took a few hesitant steps around the area, the going was still uncomfortable but the sharp rocks couldn't penetrate the leather and thus no cuts.

"I am the man!" Hazard thought about this, "the freaky lab creature man but still the man!" He yelled happily.

Pleased with his ingenuity he opened the chest again chucking the scraps of the overall in and doing a last search of the chest.

He frowned as he found another plastic bag similar to the one he already had, it was crushed plant matter but unlike his other one this herb was a bright blue colour.

Deciding to risk it hazard opened the bag and took a sniff. To his surprise the herb was almost completely scentless.

The small amount of smell information he was getting told him the plant wasn't decayed, 'it must be another medical plant' Hazard assumed.

Shrugging he pocketed it and closed the chest, he eyed the typewriter but it had nothing of interest so Hazard moved on.

He came to the large chasm that split the tunnel and looked over the edge nervously. The bottom was out of sight; in the darkness inside it could be a few meters or a few miles.

Hazard looked round wondering whether this was an accident or intentional? Surely a human couldn't jump this?

'To tell the truth I'm not sure I could either' Hazard thought.

'Agreed' His subconscious concurred.

Hazard spotted something interesting, on the left wall next to the chasm was a rusted metal plate with a hole in it. Hazard examined it and found that the 'hole' was square shaped… perhaps it was part of some kind of mechanism?

After a few minutes Hazard gave up with his investigation, it seemed that he wouldn't be able to interact with it without the right equipment.

Hazard doubled back to the chest and continued down to the end of the tunnel his steps stumbling once or twice as he navigated the water-covered floor.

He stared at the ladder and the door next to it considering these avenues, the door probably led deeper into the sewers but the ladder could reach the surface?

Inspired by this thought Hazard eagerly gripped the iron rungs and began to scale the ladder his clawed feet and tail making the upwards trip quite fast.

At the top he found himself in another tunnel that was illuminated by several candles along its length, Hazard picked up one that was propped close to the ladder and pawed it inquisitively.

He noted that half the candles wax had melted away, he wasn't sure how long it took for candles to die out but it couldn't have been here since the outbreak first happened.

He looked into the flickering flame thoughtfully, whoever had put this here had done so not too long ago to light their way.

"But who? The toad things?" Hazard wondered out loud. He thought about this and found it unlikely, those things could probably see well enough in the dark.

'This was put here by someone who needed the light to see… or for comfort perhaps?' Hazard subconscious suggested.

Hazard nodded mulling it over; his eyes sparkled with hope at the thought that perhaps a human had put this here recently? Perhaps they weren't all dead?

'Um is that necessarily a good thing?' Hazards subconscious pointed out.

Hazard frowned, 'Surely they can't all be bad and perhaps if I explain to them I'm not a monster they might hear me out… besides it would be nice to have someone to talk too' Hazard answered.

'I hope we know what we're doing' His subconscious said worriedly.

"Hey trust me I know what I'm doing" Hazard said cockily, and then got another migraine.

Hazard had reached the end of the tunnel, picking up two spare candles that had been left on the floor, and was forced to stop by the fierce waterfall that blocked the entrance.

Hazard squinted into the rushing water but couldn't see past the current, the water was just too thick.

'Surely I can force my way through?' Hazard wondered.

'I'm not sure' His subconscious said.

'I can make it' Hazard thought steeling himself.

Taking a few steps back Hazard braced himself then charged at the waterfall leaping into it.

He was immediately smashed into the floor by the heavy downpour, Hazard scrambled about trying to push forward but the weight was too much, every time he got to his knees the water flattened him again.

The water was blinding his senses and beginning to force itself into his mouth, Hazard started to panic as his air began to run out.

'Go back! Go back!' Hazards subconscious screamed at him.

Finding it impossible to rear up Hazard tried to roll back even as the current tried to hold him in place, his lungs burned and Hazard felt his strength begin to weaken as the water hammered his body.

'No I won't die like this!'

Unleashing a gurgling roar Hazard threw himself back his arms stretched towards the tunnel, to his relief his claws reached out of the waterfall and had found a grip on some dry rocks.

Pulling with all his might Hazard dragged himself clear of the waterfall quickly rolling back onto dry land thankfully.

He threw up on the rocky floor expelling the water from his lungs and then taking several deep breaths, air had never tasted so sweet.

"Let's not try that again" Hazard gasped before having a couching fit.

'Agreed' Hazards subconscious said.

Getting back on his feet Hazard shook his head fiercely throwing some of the water free, he frowned as his hair sagged over his eyes before he pushed it back.

After spending a few moments wringing out his hair and shaking his tail Hazard went back to the ladder throwing a parting glare at the waterfall before he began to descend.

He would escape this place, one way or another.

Hazard had entered the door next to the ladder and had found himself in some kind of 'T' shaped tunnel, albeit a very wobbly 'T'.

Thankfully this room was relatively dry with just a few small puddles of water on the floor so Hazard had an easier time navigating; he reached the junction looking left and right curiously.

He found that the left had another corner but the right came to a very strange end, moving down the tunnel found a large boulder at the end that blocked any further access to the route.

Pawing it curiously he found it wedged tight, judging by the damage to the tunnel walls around it had probably crashed against this path and become stuck.

'Was there an earthquake or something?' Hazard wondered.

Hazard explored round the boulder and stopped when he smelled something unpleasant under the boulder, kneeling down he could still see some dried red stains on the ground and the smell of death.

'This was a trap' Hazard affirmed, he shook his head at the insanity of this place, the scientists didn't just unleash the monsters here but seem to have made this whole land one giant obstacle course!

'Perhaps that's the point' Hazards subconscious pointed out.

Hazard frowned at this, perhaps that was the point, and perhaps this outbreak wasn't an accident?

'But all the scientists became zombies! Surely they wouldn't do this to themselves willingly?' Hazard thought in outrage.

But as he thought this perhaps they weren't willing. Perhaps they were sacrificed for science by whatever people were in charge of this place.

"All for the sake of research!" hazard spat in disgust, shaking his head he stepped away from the boulder rushing to the other end of the tunnel and entering the door straight ahead.

"I don't think ill ever meet a 'good' human at this rate" Hazard sighed sadly.

Hazard had spent a few minutes exploring the next room and decided there was plenty of interest here as he leaned out over the massive hole that filled the middle of the room.

Hazard spat over the edge and listened intently, after a few seconds he couldn't hear anything.

'Must be very deep' Hazard thought.

He straightened himself and looked round the room again; it was shaped like a large square with the hole in the centre and doors at the north and south.

Behind Hazard was a small offshoot of the room with various machinery packed against the wall.

Hazard had already investigated and deduced that it was the control system for something, but it seemed to be missing some of its internal parts and thus wouldn't work.

So what was it for?

Hazard thought he had an idea as he eyed the thick chains and pulley system that suspended from the roof of the room and descended into the darkness of the hole.

'Perhaps there's an elevator down there?' Hazard wondered drumming his claws on the rail that surrounded the hole.

Hazard had judged the distance to the chains and was pretty confident he could jump to them if he had a running start, if there was a dead end below then he should be able to just climb back up to this level.

'Why is it I always end up going into dark holes?' Hazard mused as he limbered up and took a few steps back ready for his daredevil stunt.

Taking a breath and praying to whatever deity was listening that he didn't miss Hazard sprinted towards the abyss.

At the edge he leap soaring across the gap with his claws outstretched towards the chains, his length ways movement began to take a more downwards angle and still the chains seemed miles away.

Thankfully Hazard had judged correctly and although he fell downwards a few nervous meters his angle was true and he grasped the chains as he reached them.

The impact swung him round dangerously and he almost lost his grip but his tail swung round the swaying chains and dragged him back in.

Hazard clung to the chains in a death grip as he slowly felt his heart begin to slow down, he exhaled thankfully vowing to say thanks in the first church he found.

Looking down into the darkness below him Hazard steeled himself and began to climb down into the abyss, hoping that perhaps there would be an exit down there.

'Preferably highlighted in bright neon lighting and with an arrow the size of a car'

Chapter 6.

The meeting.

Hazard had reached the bottom and dropped onto the large elevator at the end of the chains, balancing on its roof beams Hazard surveyed his surroundings critically.

It appeared the cave had now gone deep enough to reach some kind of underground river that flowed below him like rapids. Hazard was amazed at just how huge this cavern was.

The elevator was resting on some kind of metal platform that rose above the waters below it; one end seemed to lead to a ladder that disappeared down towards the river. A doorway next to the elevator lead deeper into the caves.

Hazard whistled in awe as he watched the roaring water flow beneath him, he smiled when his whistle echoed round the chamber and he wasted a minutes shouting gleefully and listening to the echo.

'Ok enough fun' Hazard reined himself in.

Jumping down into the elevator he examined its controls seeing that the elevator wasn't operational; he hadn't expected it to be really.

Hazard glanced at the door just outside the elevator but decided to see where that ladder went first.

"Besides I need a drink" Hazard said licking his parched lips.

Moving across the short bridge that lead to the ladder, (tip toeing due to the ominous creaking the wooden boards made) he came to the ladder and to his surprise found another one of those metal chests tucked against the cavern wall half hidden by the shadows.

Rubbing his hands gleefully Hazard decided to try his luck again and opened the chest, having to strain a bit due to the thick rust covering the lid.

Hazard gave a very girlish shriek, (immediately blushing and coughing more manly) as he saw an item of incredible potential within the chest.

Reaching in he pulled free a small hand crossbow, its metal perfectly preserved and its mechanism undamaged. Hazard gently rang his claws over the weapon feeling the tightness in its wire as it already held a wickedly pointed arrow within it.

Hazard grinned as he waved the crossbow about feeling its weight and sighting along it, the arrow was perfectly angled and Hazard didn't doubt that this weapon could easily force its charge through even steel.

Carefully fitting it on his belt Hazard gave it a gentle pat before exploring the rest of the chest, he found some smashed glassware and apparatus and even some cracked glasses. Hazard tried them on before throwing them away.

He gave another shout of joy when he found some more crossbow bolts within the chest, a mere five unfortunately but any ammo was well received and Hazard tucked the bolts within one of his belts pouches.

Finding nothing else of interest Hazard closed the chest and made his way over to the ladder peering over the edge nervously.

He was thankful to see that the ladder didn't descend too far and it seemed there was another platform below that was much closer to the river itself.

"Wish there was a drinks machine nearby" Hazard muttered, wondering at the lengths a bioweapon had to go to get a drink round here.

Shrugging he swung himself over the edge and descended the ladder cursing to himself about how poorly these ladders where built.

At the bottom Hazard eyed his surroundings, this platform was much more barren then the last, although there was a disused industrial crusher at the far end but Hazard lost interest after pressing the up and down buttons several times.

Kneeling beside the platform edge Hazard cupped his hands in the flowing water below the edge; he brought them to his lips and drunk deeply of the cold water gasping at its sweet taste.

'Oh my god it's so good, spring water perhaps?' Hazard mused as he quenched his thirst.

After spending a minute drinking as much water as he could stand, and feeling very bloated, Hazard made his way back to the ladder remembering to come back here if he should find it difficult to find water.

'And bring some containers back too' Hazards subconscious reminded.

'Good point that' Hazard conceded as he quickly scaled the ladder, he moved across the bridge carefully still wary of the creaking then jogged over to the only way left to go.

Hazard eyed the door before carefully reaching for its handle; he winced when the door gave a loud creak, as Hazard had to force it open.

Looking inside he saw that there was yet another subterranean tunnel before him though this one was much dryer and more illuminated.

Stepping in Hazard stalked cautiously up the tunnel pausing when he came to a T-junction, looking both ways he couldn't see anything distinguishing about them.

'Time to use the tried and tested method' Hazard thought before 'ip-dip-dooing' again, the method told him to go right.

Hazard found that the tunnel continued in curved pattern as he went right, he found a lever in the wall along the route and pulled it curiously. His ears pricked as he heard something click in the tunnel and he hurried deeper into the passage.

He soon found that the tunnel was actually a long circular passageway with two doors both firmly locked, Hazard found that the lever extended two prongs from the wall next to the locked door momentarily, possibly to allow something to rest on them.

Hazard looked around but couldn't find anything that could be used with the mechanism; he sniffed in annoyance as he found himself at yet another dead end.

Calming himself down Hazard moved between the doors examining them closely, the one that was deeper in the tunnel was solidly built and probably bolted, as Hazard couldn't force it open despite several attempts.

Stalking irritably over to the other door Hazard gave it a few experimental shoves to see if he could force it open, not to his surprise he found it also to be securely bolted and probably the mechanism was the only way to open it.

Screaming in frustration Hazard gave the door a swift kick to relieve his anger, one not being enough so he began to furiously pummel the steel door.

Though the metal construct of the door was resisting Hazards attack the constant banging was shaking loose the plane of plastic that covered the doors window.

Hazard yelped as something crashed onto his head he hopping back and rubbed his skull looking around defensively for what had struck him. To his surprise he saw that the doors window had fallen free.

Carefully scooping it up Hazard saw that what he had originally believed to be glass was just flimsy plastic, looking between the sheet and the empty hole in the door Hazard summarised that the plastic was loose to begin with.

'But why?' he wondered.

Peeking through the gap he could see a small set of stairs leading round a corner into another room, he could just make out a yellow glow emanating from around the corner.

He also could see that a mirror had been placed opposite the door allowing Hazard to see himself and the other side of the door, to his delight he saw that the door was held by a simple unlocked bolt that should be easy to move.

Reaching his arm in Hazard strained to reach the bolt, standing on tiptoe and with his arm and claws fully stretched he grimaced with effort as he tried to grasp the bolt but found his arm just wasn't long enough.

After another try Hazard pulled back his arm head butting the door in aggravation ('ow'), he glared into the mirror wondering at this set-up.

It was obvious this arrangement was made so that only the owner of the door could open it but how?

'Maybe they have longer arms then us' Hazards subconscious suggested.

Hazard frowned as he considered this; of course a longer reach would be useful but how could he copy that?

Hazard raised his arms examining the limbs and his clawed hands in deep thought… the T-virus was meant to be able to mutate its host to suit their environment and needs, perhaps mine can too?

He stretched out his arms concentrating hard, "Stretch!" He commanded forcefully.

Nothing happened.

Hazard frowned and shook his arms, limbering up; ok perhaps it needed more concentration.

Stretching his arms and spreading his claws Hazard focused until his eyes watered, mentally willing the virus to lengthen his limps.

After a few minutes Hazard was feeling like a right idiot and his arms were beginning to grow sore with his constant stretching.

He exhaled painfully and let his arms and shoulders slump as he considered that perhaps he didn't have that much control over his virus.

'I could have told you that idiot' Hazards subconscious laughed.

"Shut up"

Hazard glared at the metal door in mounting anger, he was an intelligent sentient being and he was not going to be stumped by an inanimate door!

'Think Hazard think! I need extra reach but how can I get it?'

He paced about thinking about what to do when his tail, which had been gently swishing behind him, caught on some loose rocks on the floor.

Hazard winced at the sudden pain and pulled his tail free grumbling to himself as he soothed his hurt appendage, he idly thought to be more careful how he moves considering how long his tail is when the idea hit him.

His eyes sparkled and he almost laughed at the idea but hey it was worth a try.

Backing against the door butt first Hazard looked over his shoulder as he guided his tail into the empty window pane of the door, his face screwed up in concentration as he felt around with his fifth limp until he gave a yell of glee when he touched the bolt.

It was difficult to move the bolt as Hazards tail was too thick to wrap round the bolt but after a few moments straining Hazard managed to force it to one side, there was a click and the door swung open.

"Ack!"

Hazard rubbed his tail trying to relieve the soreness he felt, the doors sudden opening had given him a painful slap against his behind.

Grumbling with feeling Hazard edged carefully into the room. Closing and bolting the door behind him, and stepped quietly down the small flight of stairs Hazard gasped in awe as he rounded the small corner and beheld the room he was in.

The soft yellow light was being created by dozens of candles, piled high in the centre of the room and on tables and old chairs round the edges they bathed the area in warm light.

What were more fascinating were the dolls. Hazard stepped into the room squinting in the bright light but quickly adapting, he picked up a doll from the nearest table gently holding it up for inspection.

The doll looked like a baby, with porcelain skin and bright ruby cheeks it looked quite cute especially its light blue eyes, Hazard smiled at the pleasant smile on the dolls face and gently ran a claw down its cheek.

He put the doll back carefully and picked up another, this one was a child too but its painted features had been chipped and tiny cracks ran down its cheeks giving it a sad appearance, Hazard noticed that's its dress was yellowed with age and had several rips in it.

Putting it back Hazard wondered about this room and the dolls, did this mean that a child lived here in these dark caves?

'Or still does live here' Hazards subconscious suggested.

Hazard investigated further finding that the furniture here was mainly old tables and cupboards filled with dolls and other nick knack's, in the centre of the room was a large collection of cushions and pillows and judging by their crumbled state they had been used recently.

Hazard carefully sat down among the cushions his body gently sinking into the warm fabric; he felt warmed by the candles dotted around him and couldn't help but contemplate this position.

He spied another doll lying amongst the pillows and gently picked it up finding that this was made of stitched fabric and looked to have been handled a lot.

He looked into its smiling features and couldn't help but hold it close to him giving into the tranquillity of this place. He suddenly had an acute understanding of this place and could almost see a young girl alone in this room cuddling her dolls tightly for comfort.

Hazard eyed the candles around him seeing them for what they were, the vast number was a clear indicator that the owner of this place had been afraid of the darkness of the caves and wanted some light somewhere.

'Well they say that light keeps the monsters at bay as well as the darkness' Hazard thought.

'Is anyone still here though?' Hazards subconscious wondered.

Hazard sniffed wiping away some moisture from his eyes and stood up gently depositing the doll back on the pillows.

Sweeping his eyes round the room Hazard saw another small passageway half hidden by some thick drapes hanging over the entrance.

Throwing them to one side Hazard saw another small passageway leading round a corner that was half submerged in water. Hazard waded in, the water rising to his waist and making him shiver at the cold as he moved through the tunnel seeing another brightly lit room in the distance.

Hazard paused at the threshold staring into the next room curiously, this room was brightly lit by many candles but Hazards attention was drawn by the crumbled bed and personal items dotting the place.

Stepping in cautiously Hazard saw some towels had been strategically placed at the entrance and so he used them to give himself a quick drying.

Eyeing the room inquisitively Hazard stalked over to the bed examining the obviously well used bed carefully, the material was still warm and Hazard felt a surge of hope, 'perhaps a human still does live down here?'

Hazard looked around and frowned when he spotted something of interest on a dresser next to the bed; padding over he picked up a tattered piece of paper finding it to be a photo.

He examined it curiously, the photo showed a young girl perhaps six or seven? She was smiling happily and Hazard wondered who she was.

He put the photo down and picked up another, this one showed the girl again, still happy, but now she had a well dressed man and a beautiful woman at her sides both holding her hands and smiling.

'Perhaps her parents?'

Whoever they were they all seemed happy and Hazard wondered at the significance of this, the photos all were yellowed with age and very tattered so obviously they had been taken a long time ago.

There was no date on them so Hazard couldn't be sure when they were taken, he concluded though that these photos must be important to have been placed in this 'home' so perhaps one of that family lived here?

Looking around again Hazard found mostly junk, memento's probably, but there was an ornate jewellery box placed to one side, obviously purposefully judging by the candles placed round it.

Carefully opening it Hazard found another picture of the family and some paperwork. Examining it he found it to be another 'lab' memo and began reading a feeling of foreboding growing within him.

His eyes scanned the words and he felt nauseous as he read about the fate of the family in the photos, the father 'Trevor' had been 'terminated' (Hazard snarled at the cold terminology) and buried without ceremony. The mother 'Jessica' had been experimented on with the virus and had apparently died, Hazard hoped she had died painlessly and not been torn apart by her body's mutations like the children in the lab, Hazard shivered at the memory.

Hazard read more and found that the girl had been named 'Lisa' apparently she had melded successfully with the virus and had been deemed worthy of further research.

Hazard growled as the memo cut short, "What happened to the girl?" He hissed furiously at the silent pages. Judging by the fact no mention was made of her death perhaps she had never died? Hazard thought about this as he looked around himself and suddenly it all clicked.

The warm bed, the dolls, the many candles and collected photos.

Lisa still lived here!

He almost yelled with delight at the thought that he might have someone to talk to after all, he put the file back and then stood in the centre of the 'bedroom' unsure what to do now.

Should he wait for her to come back home? Hazard wondered at how the little girl might react to suddenly seeing a creature like him in her home. Hazard grinned sheepishly as he examined his claws and purple skin… 'Probably be scared out of her wits' Hazard thought.

Ok perhaps he should keep exploring? Finding her in more neutral territory might make her less uneasy.

So decided Hazard walked deeper into the room finding a ladder leading up into the ceiling, perhaps to the surface?

Scaling it Hazard found himself in another small tunnel that split left and right, left went to another ladder while right appeared to lead to a small storage room.

Hazard went right exploring the storage room, he found a lot of the medical herbs here as well as barrels of water. He considered taking a few herbs but decided against it, wouldn't make a good first impression with 'Lisa'.

He stalked over to the next ladder looking up the rungs critically, it was very dark but Hazard could just make out small spears of light piercing through something up there.

Hazard shrugged, doubtless he would find out, and began to climb.

Hazard had reached the top of the ladder finding a trapdoor, that led into some kind of cabin, covered it.

Now he moved cautiously deeper into the small building listening for more movement and sniffing curiously, there was a strange scent in the air… not rotted or diseased but somewhat sweet like?

'Of course, Hazard decided, whatever the scent was it was being overpowered by the decay of this place'

Hazard shivered as the wind crept in from the multiple cracks in the cabins structure, damn it was cold here.

Hazards ears pricked as he heard a snapping, crackling sound and he stalked into the next room passing a typewriter and disused bed and approaching the 'living' room, he supposed.

Hazard stared in awe at the fire that burned in an old chimney, Hazard stepped closer hypnotised by the swirling flames and bright colours.

'And the warmth…' Hazard sighed happily as he stretched his hands towards the fire enjoying the soothing heat that warmed him.

Well the fire was clearly proof that someone lived here, Hazard spent a few moments warming himself before exploring the cabin some more. He found a collection of rags and bandages piled in one corner next to the small staircase which connected the two rooms of the cabin, he pawed through them curiously then recoiling in shock as he found that many of them had blood on them.

Gingerly Hazard picked a bandage up frowning at the dirt and blood that, although old, still stained it.

'What is the significance of this?' Hazard wondered. Were these Lisa's? If so did that mean she was injured often?

Hazard shuddered at the thought of the young girl having to survive here with the monsters that lived here, he was amazed to have lasted this long himself but by the looks of it this girl had been alone for years!

'Well she wont be alone any more' Hazard promised.

Hazard continued to explore entering the other room examining the typewriter and finding nothing there. Then going over to the bed he found it was cold and didn't seem to have been used at all.

Struck by an idea Hazard kneeled down and moved the covers under the bed, rummaging underneath with an outstretched claw.

"Aha!" He grinned as his questing claws found a tattered book and pulled it free, holding it up Hazard inspected it finding it to be some kind of diary.

Taking a seat next to the fire and curling his tail round himself for warmth Hazard began to read.

Lisa sighed thankfully as her cabin came into view; she had spent hours it seemed searching the forest for useable wood among the undergrowth.

She shivered at the biting cold and couldn't fight off the feeling of tiredness that smothered her body, she wondered just how late it was as it had been well into night when she had first went hunting many hours ago.

Wearily she forced her exhausted body to walk unsteadily up the bath to her cabin cradling the collected wood as best she could in her arms. Her tentacles hovered above her protectively but even they were beginning to droop sleepily.

'I can't wait to curl up in bed and sleep for a whole day' Lisa thought wantonly, she smiled and her eyes slide shut as she fantasised about a whole day relaxing at home not worrying about hunting for hours on end just for a few measly scraps.

Normally she wouldn't do such a thing, even taking one day off was too much of a risk but with the filling meal of that deer and with some meat still left she didn't have to worry about food tomorrow.

She shuddered as the wind howled and tore at her shivering form; she wrapped her tentacles round herself for warmth as her ragged clothes did little to protect her from the elements.

She quickened her pace her legs moving as fast as her chains would allow as she hurried to her cabin, she reached the front door and let loose a tired sigh.

"Need sleep" Lisa muttered then yawned as she began unlocking her front door.

Hazard was poking curiously at the torn body of a deer he found half hidden in a small alcove under the stairs.

The smell had begun to filter into his nostrils while he had been thumping through Lisa's diary and he had crawled over to investigate.

Now despite the horrible image that the mutilated animal presented Hazard was fighting the urge to rip some meat off its flank and guzzle it with gusto!

'Plants ain't got nothing on meat!' Hazard groaned inwardly as he considered his own herbal supplies and the feast laid out before him.

'Of course this is most likely Lisa's dinner' Hazards subconscious reminded him.

Hazard nodded and wiped away the drool from his chin as he turned away from the deer, wouldn't do to upset the host.

Hazards eyes returned to the diary he had left next to the fire. He had barely started reading when the smell had attracted him so he was still curious about what the book contained.

So Hazard took his seat again by the fire and picked up the book again, so focused on this was he that he almost jumped out of his skin when a loud crash thundered in his ears.

Jumping to his feet and looking towards the source Hazard stared in shock at the… 'Thing' that had just entered the room. It stood equally shocked, standing just a few paces from him and staring at him in confusion.

Hazards eyes darted to the floor seeing that the bang had been a large collection of branches that the creature had dropped, his gaze went back to the creature and he stepped back in disgust at what he saw.

The creature was humanoid shaped and a head shorter then Hazard but due to the fact it was slightly stooped it was probably as tall as he was. Hazard frowned when he saw that a large metal block that held its arms in check weighted it down and that thick chains also hampered its legs.

Hazard grimaced as his eyes returned to its face or perhaps its 'faces'. Its head was wrapped in a veil made of skinned faces that had been crudely stitched together, their slackened mouths and empty eyes made Hazard shiver in revulsion. Though if he looked closer hidden within the 'veil' Hazard could just make out two amber eyes glaring at him with deep suspicion.

So numbed by the horrible sight before him that Hazards claws had gone slack loosening their grip on the diary and dropping it to the floor, Hazard jumped at the dull thump of the book hitting the floor and the creatures eyes shot to the diary.

The creatures amber eyes widened in shock as it saw the diary then stabbed back at Hazard practically glowing with menace. The creature hissed as its body vibrated in anger and Hazard took a step back nervously.

'Oh boy' Hazard thought uneasily as the creature took a step forward its posture clearly hostile and its eyes hate filled.

As it stepped into the room the light of the fire illuminated it more clearly and Hazard quailed in horror as he saw what he had thought to be just flickering shadows in the air above the creature.

Six long tentacles of muscle and sinew grew from the creatures back, they snapped through the air and hovered menacingly above Hazard as if ready to spit him at any moment.

'Probably are' Hazard thought, sudden images of those tentacles piercing his flesh and tearing his body apart flashed through his mind and Hazard prayed he hadn't just had a premonition.

From the looks of things the creature was working itself into a frenzy as its tentacles slashed through the air and its snarling grew angrier.

Hazards took a quick peek behind him seeing he was being backed into a corner, 'this would be very bad' he decided.

Before he was trapped Hazard made a lunge for the steps leading to the next room, the creature screamed and one of its tentacles stabbed into the steps stopping him.

Before he could try to dodge past it another tentacle swiped the air and Hazard was forced back, his eyes looked round wildly as he tried to see a way out but the creature had successfully backed him against the wall.

Its tentacles rose into the air above him and Hazard knew he had seconds to act before they tore him apart, throwing caution to the wind Hazard dived forward.

The creature shrieked as it stabbed down but Hazard had moved too close and they smashed into the floor behind him. Not stopping Hazard speared into the creature throwing them both to the floor in a tangled head of rags, chains, and tentacles.

Hazard snarled as he wrestled with the creature, despite its thin and light body it possessed incredible strength and ferocity and he was hard pressed to contain it.

He yelled in pain as a tentacle slashed across his back and another thumped his rips while he and the creature continued to grapple.

'Right that's it!'

Roaring Hazard grasped its rags lifting its upper body up and then slamming the creature into the hard floor, the creature's head was banged painfully and it lay dazed for a moment.

Not letting up Hazard swiftly straddled the creature holding it in place by its neck and unsheathing his knife with his spare claw, he raised the sharp blade and was about to pierce his attackers heart when his eyes met its own.

Hazard froze as he looked deep into those wide amber orbs, he had intended to meet its gaze and let it know who was superior as he killed it, as punishment for its foolish attack but he had not expected the emotion he could see in those eyes.

Fear.

His attack faltered and Hazard hesitated as he contemplated those fearful amber eyes, he had not been expecting that.

With strength born of terror the creature screamed and bucked violently throwing Hazard off itself, Hazard yelled as he was thrown forward to sprawl across the floor.

Quickly righting himself Hazard sprang to his feet defensively, he saw that the creature too had got back on its feet and was eyeing him nervously.

Hazard sneaked a peek behind him and saw that the coast was clear he had a straight run to the cabins exit.

He looked back at the creature and shrugged, "We'll have to finish this some other time" He said lightly before turning tail and running, so quick on his escape Hazard missed the creatures shocked eyes and surprised gasp.

Hazard charged through the cabin door throwing it open and racing outside, he skidded to a halt as he found himself in some kind of forest.

Hazards eyes looked around in wonder as he saw for the first time the trees and life on the surface, he shook his head and glanced over his shoulder. He didn't have time for sightseeing! Not with that 'thing' behind him.

Thus Hazard darted into the forest picking a worn muddy path and hurrying along it.

As Hazard ran down the twisting path, his feet making heavy splashes and squelches in the mud, he couldn't help but feel uneasy surrounded by the tall trees.

Hazard shivered, and not just from the cold, earlier wonder now gone Hazard found this forest to be rather spooky. Mist clung to the ground and swirled lazily around the trees, the trees themselves created images of nightmare attackers to Hazards eyes, the darkness and their twisted branches making Hazards imagination work overtime.

'That and the silence' Hazard looked around fearfully as his own footfalls seemed to echo around the forest, his first fast escape down the path had slowed to a defensive walk as Hazard wondered if the outside was any better then the inside?

Hazard paused in his walk as he spied a statue half hidden in the dark and trees, stalking over he saw it was in the image of a man dressed in some kind of robe.

Hazard eyed it thoughtfully, despite the thick foliage around it the statue remained untouched… perhaps purposely by someone?

Hazard reached out and carefully touched it with a claw, the carved rock was smooth in some places but time and the elements had worn down most of it and discoloured the statue greatly.

'Doubtless this guy was quite a looker once' Hazard mused smiling at the thought, patting the statue Hazard moved on.

Lisa was in turmoil.

She had been pacing back and forth in front of her fire for the last few minutes thinking furiously about what had happened.

'He talked…' was the thought that filled Lisa's mind, after so long she was pleasantly surprised to find that she could still comprehend another's words.

That… monster?

Creature?

Experiment like herself?

He had talked and now that she examined the situation he had done many more human things.

He wore clothes, admittedly so did the zombies but they did so out of ignorance, they couldn't 'think' to wear or not wear them.

He had carried a weapon, Lisa shuddered as she remembered that moment when he had been ready to stab her but then… he had hesitated?

Why?

Why hadn't he struck?

'Perhaps because he showed mercy?' Lisa wondered. She would have struck; it was the logical thing to do to an attacker.

She sniffed angrily, what use was mercy in this world? He was only weakening himself.

'So why didn't you attack him when he ran?'

Lisa frowned at the self question, 'because… because I didn't want to risk another battle!'

'Liar, you were just as intrigued by him as he was by you'

'What are you talking about' Lisa asked herself, swiping at the air irritably.

'Go after him, investigate this new player'

Lisa continued to pace as she thought this over, why shouldn't she go after him? She was curious…

Lisa remembered his face, a part of her shivering at the memory, it had been so long she had almost forgotten how emotive a face could be. The expressions of wonder, fear, anger and confusion had all been present and Lisa stopped her pacing as she considered them.

'Perhaps… I could…'

Lisa snarled and reared to her full height her tentacles slashing the air angrily; this line of thinking was pointless! As the battle had proved he was her equal if not her superior in strength and he was just as well armed as she. He was a threat to her!

Lisa snatched up her diary, that 'person' had been reading her diary! That alone was enough reason for punishment.

Throwing the diary back under the bed Lisa hurried out of the cabin finding the creatures scent and following it carefully.

He was a threat to her… and so the only way to sort that was to eliminate him.

Even as Lisa considered how to do this a part of her twisted painfully at the thought of what she was going to do.

Hazard had decided the fear factor of this forest had just gone up several notches.

Resting against a moss covered headstone Hazard eyed his surroundings worriedly, the rows of graves spread out in this graveyard, with the mist swirling around them, was a scene straight out of a horror film.

'Hopefully I'm the hero and not just another meal' Hazard thought.

Tapping his claws on the headstone Hazard considered his options; the path behind him led to that cabin and whatever that 'creature' was.

The path in front beyond the yard's gates seemed to lead to a building though even Hazard couldn't see much in the dark.

'Haven't got many choices have we' Hazard mused.

'Nope but hey what else is new?' Hazards subconscious said lightly.

Hazard smirked and nodded his head in agreement when the sound of a gate's protesting opening caught his attention.

Hazard swore when he saw the gate in front had opened and two of those 'toad' creatures had stepped in, they seemed surprised to see him too but judging by the way they licked their lips and brandished their claws it was a welcome one.

'Options?' Hazard asked as he drew his knife and crouched defensively, the two monsters splitting up and stalking him from both sides.

'Run?' His subconscious offered.

A 'toad' chirped and was answered by the other as they both rushed him claws outstretched.

"Run!" Hazard agreed and sprinted for the exit, the scaled creatures behind him shrieking and chasing after him.

Lisa had reached her stone 'friend' and the entrance to the graveyard when she heard the hunters high pitched warcrys, she looked down the path in astonishment as the gate was wrenched open and the purple creature darted through pursed by two hunters.

She stepped into their path rising to her full height, tentacles bared and shrieking for all she was worth.

She was smugly pleased when all three stopped dead.

'Oh crap!' Hazard glanced between the ragged creature blocking his escape and the two scalys behind him, to his surprise they too seemed nervous.

The ragged creature stepped forward hissing threateningly and both Hazard and the toads stepped back fearfully, judging by the frenzied chirping behind him the 'toads' seemed to be having an argument.

Suddenly one of the green creatures lunged for Hazard, he jumped to one side narrowly avoiding its attack, rolling with the fall and rising to a half crouch Hazard saw that the tentacle creature hadn't liked that.

Swifter then it could act the toad was lashed by one of the creature's tentacles, it shrieked and tried to retreat but a tentacle snaked round its leg and tripped it up. Unleashing an enraged scream the ragged creature lifted the scaled thing over its head and smashed it into the ground.

Stunned the 'toad' was helpless as more tentacles encircled it and continued to lift and then pound it into the ground, Hazard winced as he heard bones break.

The frenzied strength of the creature was awe inspiring as it continued to slam the 'toad' into the ground until it lay still clearly dead.

With a contemptuous flick of its tentacles the creature threw the lifeless thing to one side. Then turned to the remaining 'toad' and glared at it, daring it to attack.

The last scaled creature eyed its dead companion before turning tail and running for all it was worth, Hazard grinned as it tripped yet continued to crawl away from them.

He finally laughed as it hauled open the gate to the graveyard and scurried past the headstones, the blind panic in its movement's comedy to Hazard.

Smiling pleasantly Hazard turned to face the tentacle creature to thank it, maybe it wasn't an enemy after all?

"Hey-" Hazard started but before he could finish a tentacle slapped him across the face, Hazards head spun with the blow and he fell to the ground dazed.

Shaking his head to clear his vision he stared at the ragged creature before him in astonishment. He tried to understand this betrayal. It had just helped him hadn't it?

The creature hissed angrily, raised its tentacles high above Hazard readying themselves to stab down, and pierce his flesh.

Hazards eyes locked with the creature and he tried to understand the reasoning behind its impending attack in those amber orbs, all he could see though was madness.

But even as he lay paralysed by fear the tentacles quivered and the creature hesitated in its attack, Hazard frowned as he saw a conflict warring in its eyes as if it was unsure whether to attack or not.

Still Hazard didn't want to risk the outcome and quickly scrambled away from the creature rising to his feet at the edge of the forest.

The creature was still just watching him with a look of confusion and surprise in its eyes; as if surprised it had just let him live?

'Only one option left' Hazard thought, throwing one last look at the creature he dashed into the forest ducking through the foliage and disappearing among the trees.

Behind him the creature stared silently in Hazards direction contemplating the dark forest he had run into. With a shrug it shuffled after him.

Hazard ran like he had never run before, he ran to escape that creature. He ran to escape those zombies, those 'toads'. He ran in the hope of just escaping this place!

'What have I done to deserve this?'

Hazards mind was in a maelstrom of rage, sadness, and hopelessness. Everywhere he went he found horror and insanity of nature and human madness. Everywhere was danger and with no end in sight Hazard felt the best option at this moment was to run.

He tore through the dense greenery of the forest his eyes looking round wildly as the darkness and trees seemed to create nightmarish creatures at every turn.

Hazards running had rapidly turned into blind panic and he could not stop himself from racing around blindly in his fear. His hearts chaotic pounding seemed like it was trying to fight its way out of his chest, his lungs burned due to his ragged, hyperventilating, breathing and yet he could not summon the will to break this panic.

He must have ran a mile it seemed as he stumbled through the forest when he thought he heard a faint rustling of chains behind him. Still running he glanced over his shoulder for a few seconds but couldn't see nothing.

He almost believed he had imagined it so he looked back in the direction he was running and saw a second too late the tree that was squatting in his path.

"Oh cr-"

Hazard opened his eyes warily idly admiring the bright stars that shone high above him, he blinked and considered this and then realised that for some reason he was lying flat on his back with his limps sprawled in all directions.

He made to sit up and immediately groaned and fell back as his head suddenly radiated pain across his temples, he wondered whether this is what a hangover felt like.

'Nope just a concussion' His subconscious said brightly.

'No need to sound so pleased' Hazard thought as he raised a claw to his forehead gingerly touching the hurt area, thankfully he couldn't feel any blood but the beginnings of a very painful bruise was growing on his temple.

Hazard lay still gently rubbing his head as he tried to recollect what just happened, he fought that ragged creature, he ran into the forest, then it all got sorta hazy and then…

Hazard frowned as he remembered then glared in annoyance at the tree that towered above him, in his stunned state and with the wind whistling through the leaves he could almost hear the tree sniggering.

"Laugh it up tree, I'm the one who's gonna make a table and matching chairs out of you" Hazard grumbled. He, carefully this time, rose to a sitting position moaning painfully but finding it tolerable.

Cradling his head in his claws and looking around blearily Hazard wondered what to do now, the impact with the tree had knocked some sense in him so his panic was over… though he wished for a less painful method of calming him down.

Resting his claws on his knees and curling his tail round himself Hazard surveyed the woods around him critically, though he couldn't see anything hostile instinct told him that this forest was just as dangerous as everywhere else.

Hazard felt his eyelids becoming strangely heavy and had to fight to keep them open, he rubbed at them with his knuckles and yawned widely exposing his long fangs.

Hazard blinked rapidly clearing the gunk from his eyes and examined this strange feeling, looking at the night sky he realised he must be getting tired.

'Well everything has to sleep right?' He mused.

Standing up Hazard yawned again and gave his limps a stretch before considering this problem; he couldn't exactly sleep out on the forest floor.

Who knows what things live out here and besides it wouldn't be very comfortable. Hazard tapped his claws against his leg and gnawing his lip in frustration as he looked around; perhaps he could investigate that building beyond the graveyard?

'Yeah just one problem where the hell is it?' Hazards subconscious asked snidely.

Hazard grimaced as he stared at the trees that surrounded him, in the darkness and thick undergrowth he doubted he could find the path again.

Hazard snarled and kicked the tree in frustration, bloody hell nothing went right for him here!

Hazards ears twitched as he heard something snap after hitting the tree and he cocked his head quizzically, thus his skull made an easy target for the short board of wood that dropped from the heavens.

"Ow!" Hazard yelped and danced back rubbing his head painfully; he glared around him suspiciously until he spotted the rotted plank that had struck him.

He picked it up carefully, sniffing and examining it. He saw that it was manmade though heavily rotted and Hazard tilted his head up peering into the branches of the tree above him.

His eyes widened and he gave a short surprised chuckle as he saw an old treehouse, of all things, resting in the shadows above him.

Obviously kicking the tree had loosened a piece of it that had been rotted away by time and the elements; he grinned happily and patted the tree thankfully.

"Ill let you off for this" He tittered in amusement.

Rubbing his hands together to warm them up he braced himself then leap onto the tree grasping its trunk and quickly scaling the aged bark.

Hazard found his claws as effective as any climbing equipment easily finding grips among the tree and climbing as quickly as a monkey.

'Albeit a purple furless one with big claws and no musical talent' He thought humourly as he reached the treehouse.

Resting amongst the thick branches that the shack was lashed to he carefully manoeuvred around the 'house' looking for a way in; the treehouse was solidly built in that it was, relatively, in one piece. Hazard grinned as he spied a doorway almost invisible in the darkness and he stepped inside.

Hazard found the roof to be very low making him believe that the treehouse was made for kids originally, he had to stoop when standing but it wasn't too bad. Peering into the darkness Hazards eyes quickly adjusted to the shadowed interior and found to his delight that there was already some tattered blankets thrown to one corner.

He picked them up carefully and held them at arm length distastefully as mouldy leaves fell from the blankets, sorting through them he found one that was in ok condition.

'Only a slight smell and coloration… just hope they were brown to begin with!' Hazard thought eyeing the dirty blanket apprehensively.

The wind suddenly howled through the trees and Hazard winced and clutched himself as the cold easily flowed into the shack to attack his trembling form.

'Guess ill have to make do' Hazard thought glumly as his eyes threatened to close again, he fought back a yawn and pacing about to find the driest spot.

He sat down against one of the treehouses walls and wrapped the old blanket around himself, shivering as the cold material covered him Hazard snuggled in deep resting his head on his knees as he warmed himself.

Through the open doorway Hazard looked out over the black shrouded forest and the stars that glowed high in the sky, the young tyrant smiled slightly as he admired their gentle glow and felt slightly relieved that something here was still beautiful.

'Well that's my first day of existence over, suppose I should be happy just to have lived through it'

He sighed sleepily idly wondering what to do next or where he should go when he awoke.

'Maybe it'll look nicer in tomorrows light, Hazard thought hopefully, better yet ill wake up in a nice warm bed and this will all have been a horrible dream'

He yawned again and felt his body beginning to settle into sleep, his muscles began to relax and he found conscious thought increasingly difficult. As his eyes began to slide shut the brief thought that something might kill him in his sleep rose in his foggy mind but he was too tired to give it much thought.

At the moment he couldn't really summon the energy to care… perhaps it would be nice to sleep forever and never have to see monsters again.

'It'll all be better tomorrow… it'll all be better…' Was Hazards last thoughts before sleep took him.

In the darkness of Raccoon forest Hazard slept peacefully as the nightmare world continued, killers prowled the land and many things screamed in agony but one creature at least had found peace of a temporary sort.

Hazard slept on and in his dreams, at least, the monsters did not trouble him.

Unknown to Hazard two amber eyes knew of his resting-place, standing under the tree and staring up into the dark canopy these eyes had no trouble piercing the shadows.

Lisa had watched as the strange purple creature had climbed the tree and after waiting silently she heard his gentle breathing slow and knew his guard was down.

With silence honed by years of stalking her prey Lisa carefully scaled the tree her tentacles climbing the tall oak like a great spider.

Her chains barely made a sound, when necessary Lisa could be quite stealthy when she felt the need.

Crouching in the doorway to Hazards lair Lisa's eyes watched the sleeping tyrant carefully watching for any alerts but after a few tense moments Hazard did not stir and her presence went unnoticed.

Creeping into the old treehouse Lisa kneeled by the slumbering creature examining him closely for the first time.

Lisa analysed his strong muscles, sharp claws and whip-like tail with cold calculation admiring what a dangerous being he was; there was a savage beauty to the creature before her.

But reminded of his strength and the two times he had evaded her Lisa knew he was a serious threat to her, her lips pulled back into a snarl as she remembered the creature holding her down and raising his knife above her.

She had felt real fear at that moment, the incident too much like her past tortures for her to ignore. She swore she would never be in such a position again and this 'thing' had dared subject her to that again.

"Never again" She whispered to her ignorant prey as she rose to her feet, her tentacles rising above the sleeping creature ready to strike, to kill and end this threat.

Her eyes hardened as she prepared to do this final act, she had hesitated before but never again!

As she was about to strike the creature shifted, moving his head to one side and resting against the wall, exposing his soft features to the pale glow of the moon.

Lisa felt her throat constrict as she looked upon this creatures surprisingly human features, she hadn't noticed before but he was quite… beautiful.

Lisa shook her head frowning in confusion, what did she care? He was a threat and had to be eliminated!

Again she prepared to strike and then the creature gave a soft murmur, his eyelids fluttered and he smiled slightly as if he was imagining sunshine and flowers. Happy places far from this horrible world.

Lisa was transfixed by its gentle smile and blissful features… he looked so peaceful.

Lisa knew what she should do, this creature had the power to kill her and she had survived by destroying threats before they killed her, so she should kill him too.

So why was she hesitating?

Lisa almost sobbed as this indecision tore at her mind; she should kill him yet… yet she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Her gaze flickered to the tentacles hanging ominously above the sleeping creature and for some reason she felt… shame?

Yes shame, shame that this creature was so peaceful and happy in his dreams and here she was ready to end those dreams and that smile forever.

Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she snorted in disgust at her own weakness, she eyed the sleeping creature wondering if he will ever know how close to death he came this night.

Kneeling down again she brought her veiled lips close to his ear, "You can live… for one more night at least" She whispered. The creature frowned momentarily as if he heard the threat but his features quickly became blissful again.

Rising to her feet and shuffling quietly to the exit she glanced at the sleeping creature wondering why he interested her so much?

'Perhaps I'm lonely… or hungering for something new in my life?' She mused.

Regardless the next few days should get interesting with him running around and who knows, maybe ill have some fun before I kill him.

Fixing his sleeping image in her mind Lisa dropped from the canopy onto the ground without a sound, straightening her shoulders she set a course back to her cabin, she had some sleep to catch up with.

She looked up at the stars smiling slightly at the glow unknowingly echoing Hazards thoughts on how beautiful they were.

Looking back at the treehouse she waved a tentacle in his direction mouthing a 'good night'.

Maybe she and him might learn to tolerate each other… perhaps even become allies?

Lisa cocked her heads thinking about this then laughing at how ridiculous the thought was.

She knew she was going to kill him.

Eventually.

END ACT 1.

BLOODY HELL 54 PAGES LONG AND A TOTAL OF 30,426 WORDS! MY LONGEST CHAPTER EVER WRITTEN!

BUT DAMN WELL WORTH IT NEVER POURED SO MUCH EFFORT INTO SOMETHING BEFORE.

SO IF YOU THINK ITS CRAP ILL BE TOTTALY SHATTERED.

LOL NAW I DON'T MIND SOME CRITICSIM AS LONG AS ITS CONSTRUCTIVE ALTHOUGH I CANT SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THIS ALTHOUGH IM BIASED OF COURSE.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED READING THIS CHAPTER AND PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REVIEW.

PLEASE REVIEW.

OK IM WARNING YOU TO REVIEW OR BAD THINGS ARE COMING YOUR WAY!

…WELL MAINLY JUST NEGATIVE THOUGHTS BUT HEY THAT CANT BE DOING YOUR KARMA ANY GOOD SO REVIEW!

PRETTY PLEASE?


	2. Act 2 part 1

_Hiyas to all!_

_We have the next chapter of the renamed 'THROUGH THE EYES OF A TYRANT: HAZARDS TALE' here and hopefully it will be as good, if not better, then the previous._

_Wanna thank my three last reviewers for their words cheers a lot!_

Scorpu'la: _thanks a lot for the good review, I'm glad this remake has your approval and that you like the characters thoughts, had to work hard to get them right so thanks a lot!_

_Fireo: I'm glad its not just me that likes a free tyrant, thanks a lot for the review and I hope you come to love Hazard as much as I do J_

_B Slick: Cheers! I hope that this chapter is as good as the last for you._

_Warnings!_

_As before this is an 'M' I think that's the highest ranking?_

_Anyway yeah it has adult themes, lots of blood and gore (well what resi evil wouldn't have that!) and swearing so please no reading this if your not mature enough for that!_

_Ok warnings over enjoy the fic!_

ACT 2: FINDING A PLACE IN THIS NIGHTMARE WORLD.

Chapter 7.

Stage right, the S.T.A.R.S

Beyond the darkness and horrors of the Arkley Mountains a bastion of civilisation rested in the mountains shadow, Raccoon City, a home to thousands of humans all ignorant of the nightmares that waited in the shadows around their fair city.

This city like all human settlements had its secrets, most were mere petty corruption of the established leadership and the hidden rule of the mobs.

But Raccoon City was unique in that its secrets were of an even more horrible reality, the reality that the demons and evils of human imagination really did exist, hiding in the sewers below their city and the forests surrounding them.

But where there is evil there is also heroes, men and women of incredible valour who have no idea of the trials ahead, of the terrors that will tear at their sanity as well as their flesh.

But like all heroes the spirit and will is stronger then mere bullet and blade, and these heroes will need all their courage when faced with the darkness that their own kind created.

The darkness of the Umbrella corporation.

Chris Redfield groaned in agony and pulled a pillow tight around his ears as his doorbells shrilling cry pounded in his aching head.

"Go away!" He grumbled sleepily, though the words were just a muffled noise outside his shield of pillow.

The ringing continued and tries as he might Chris could not ignore the persistent noise even with his ears filled with pillow in a vain attempt to block out the noise.

With a longsuffering moan Chris warily threw the pillow away and focused his bleary eyesight at his bedside clock, the neon red seemed almost mocking as it displayed '7:55'am.

"I don't get paid enough for this" He grumbled before swinging his legs off the bed and resting them on the floor, sitting up he rubbed as his temples trying to soothe the dull ache there that the constant 'ringing' wasn't helping!

"All right, ALL RIGHT! I'M UP!" Chris yelled towards the door as he stood up, his body swayed dangerously and the man took a few moments fighting off the effects of his hangover.

"Knew I shouldn't have had that extra round with Barry" Chris muttered feeling sorry for himself, he cheered up slightly as he thought of the verbal lashing Barry would get from his wife when he woke up hangover.

'Sod deserves it' Chris chuckled at the image of Barry throwing up with his wife yelling at him.

Moving over to the door, and the still ringing doorbell, Chris looked into his spyhole strangely not surprised at the auburn haired woman who was on the other side of the door finger pressed firmly against the door bell.

"Do you know what fucking time it is?" Chris asked testily through the door, the woman just smirked and stuck her tongue out at the spyglass.

With a hopeless sigh Chris pulled back the bolts of his door and opened it a crack peering at the young woman who looked up at him with an expression of serene innocence.

"Sleep well?" Jill Valentine asked, her sapphire eyes shining with mirth, Chris could tell she was fighting not to laugh.

"Like a baby" he answered moodily, she raised an eyebrow in amusement and tapped a foot patiently.

Chris sighed and opened the door for her and without further ado the woman walked past him eyeing his 'disorganised' room amusedly.

Chris couldn't help but admire her cute little ass as she walked past; he turned back to the door shutting it then examining his friend more carefully.

Jill Valentine was, as ever; beautiful to look at, not surprisingly she was already in uniform, her trousers and tight vest outlining her slim form perfectly. Chris's eyes roved over the woman's body appreciatively, especially as they rested for a moment on her pert breasts that strained against the material covering them.

He gazed upon her face feeling, not for the first time, his heart skip a beat at her gorgeous features. Full lips that seemed to be always curved into an impish smile, smooth milky white skin, a cute little nose and beautiful blue eyes. The cap that leaned over one ear with her brown auburn hair cut short and exposing her delicious neck only heightened her beauty.

'Get a grip man! I'm gonna get hard right in front of her if I keep these thoughts up'

Chris reined himself in as Jill took a seat on the edge of his bed, arms and body leaning back as she almost laid herself across Chris's bed. He gritted his teeth and almost swore, damn she knew how to tease him.

'The question is does she know she does it' Chris wondered, looking into her sparkling eyes and the small smile she wore he guessed she did.

"So why you waking me up this early Jill? I told you before I'm not going to that fancy dress party this early," he said staring pointedly at her uniform.

Jill laughed pleasantly and tilted her head to one side eyeing him mischievously, "Shame because I think you'd be the man of the party if you went in your current costume," She said grinning at his T-shirt and boxers.

Chris smiled and raised his arms in a beckoning gesture, "Hey all you have to do is ask and you can see much more of this get up"

Jill smiled; "Ill consider it" She sounded like she really was.

Chris grinned then turned his attention to the clothes covering the floor; he began to sort through them looking for his uniform.

"So is this just a social call or is there another reason I'm awake this early?"

Jill eyed him from her sitting position; she crossed her legs and looked serious now.

"Wesker wants all stars members in the office now, no matter how much they've had to drink, he said"

Chris winced and eyed Jill in annoyance, "It's a Sunday Jill, our day off you know? Me and Barry had every right to get pissed regardless of what Wesker thinks"

Jill gave him a sympathetic smile, "Unofficially your day off Chris, you know on emergencies stars are on call twenty four, seven. And Wesker did say this was an emergency"

Chris tugged his jeans on, falling over in the process, "So what's the emergency then?" he asked from the floor as he did up the zip.

"Wouldn't say, but you know Wesker, he doesn't play jokes, if he says its serious its serious" She answered; she noticed him looking around in confusion and handed him his shirt.

"Cheers, everyone else 'invited'?"

"Barry's already there and, no offence, he looks just as crap as you"

Chris smiled, "You're so honest"

"I try" She shot back with a grin, Chris noticed how white her small teeth were.

He coughed distractedly, "Question how come you're so bright eyed this early?"

Jill smiled and folded her hands in her lap, "Because I'm a good girl who goes to bed on time"

Noticing Chris's sceptical look she laughed and spoke more seriously, "Wesker told me yesterday about the meeting and knowing you wouldn't be awake I decided to get up early for you"

Chris smiled earnestly, "Thanks Jill, where would I be without you for a wake up call?" He said as he buckled on his belt and gun.

She chuckled, "Still in bed, shall we?" she rose to her feet heading for the door and opening it for him, Chris quickly grabbed his keys and followed her.

"After you" Chris offered with a sweep of his arm, Jill smirked and walked ahead with her nose in the air regally. Chris locked his door and hurried after her.

No way was he going to let an ass that good get out of his sight.

At the R.P.D things were chaotic as usual as Jill and Chris pulled up in her car, it seemed crime didn't rest even this early in the morning.

Getting out the passenger side Chris looked up at the massive station admiring the ancient building, he doubted any other city police force had as good looking a station.

"Come on Chris you've only seen it a hundred times" Jill teased as she locked her car. Giving him a shove she got them moving to the main doors.

"Hey face it we got the best deal when it comes to workplaces" Chris said lightly, Jill just shook her head in amusement.

They stopped as two street cops cut their path dragging someone between them, the leather wearing thug they held was giving the two men a tough job.

They winced as he suddenly lunged for the cop to his right, head butting him fiercely and dropping him like a stone. He swept the other ones feet with a kick then tried to escape in Jill and Chris's direction.

"Yeah best deal" Jill said humourly before stepping into the crooks path, he tried to bowl her out of the way but she sprang to his side and lashed out with a swift kick to his legs. The criminal grunted in pain and stumbled but didn't drop, however, Chris leapt forward taking advantage of the criminal's distraction and floored him with a quick punch to his face, the criminals nose broke with an audible crunch and he fell to the ground out cold.

Rubbing his hand Chris nodded amiably at the two cops who quickly hauled their charge to his feet and frog-marched him towards the station.

Jill watched them go then looked at Chris in concern but he grinned and blew on his hand proudly, "Nothing like a good ass kicking to wake someone up"

Inside the stations main hall the two STARS looked around in confusion at the unusual amount of motion in the room, uniformed cops and smartly dressed detectives and sergeants dashed about bellowing orders or being bellowed at.

The lobby was more packed then the two STARS had ever seen, people were typing furiously at the reception and several officers were yelling into phones as orderlies and staff dashed about under the officers orders.

Chris grabbed a passing cop; a young fresh faced rookie by the look of him, and asked him what was going on.

"You not watched the news this morning sir? There's some kind of cannibal gang loose in the forests attacking the hikers and caravans up there" He blurted in excitement.

"Cannibals?" Jill questioned.

"Yeah! Its got everyone on edge miss, the publics in uproar and the mayors close to ordering a quarantine on the city"

Chris and Jill exchanged glances, they both were thinking the same thing, perhaps this is what Wesker wanted them for?

"Surely that's going a bit far? Quarantine for some crazed gang?" Jill said in confusion.

The rookie shook his head, he looked suddenly sick as if he remembered something he hadn't wanted to, "Its serious though miss, I've seen some of the photos of the victims, they'd been torn apart, whole families in fact, little kids too"

Chris and Jill exchanged another worried look before Chris let the cop go.

"Ok thanks for the info kid" Chris said patting the rookie on the shoulder, the young man nodded then hurried off.

"I think we should find out what Weskers got to say" Chris said to Jill. She nodded and the two STARS hurried to their own offices.

They reached the second floor stairs when they were met by Barry, the big man waved at them from the top and the two quickly climbed up to him.

"Glad you two got here at last, everyone's itching to get this briefing started" Barry said tensely.

Chris shook the hulking STARS members' hand in greeting then examined his friend closely.

Barry was as tall as Chris himself who was just over six feet, but the older man was far bulkier then Chris was. Although some may think him as a fat old man they'd soon be proved wrong, Barry contained a lot of muscle in his body and could take even more punishment then Chris, and he had been Airforce trained.

The older man was dressed in his uniform of brown trousers and white shirt with the STARS emblems imprinted on the shoulders; he was also wearing his thick armoured vest that was a dull red.

Barry's huge Magnum was already strapped at his side and Chris noticed that the big man kept his hand close to it, a sure sign of agitation.

This confused Chris, Barry was one the most easy going men he knew, he was respected by all the STARS members for his loyalty and friendship and especially of his devotion to his wife and two daughters.

'Something serious must be going on for Barry to be unnerved' Chris mused.

"What's going on Barry?" Jill asked, it seemed she too noticed the signs.

"Lets get to the office then we'll all be brought up to speed" Barry said firmly before leading the way, both growing increasingly uneasy the two followed him.

At the STARS office the three walked in noticing everyone start as they entered the room then slowly relax, both the members of Bravo and Alpha team where here.

"Chris, glad you could make it" Enrico, captain of Bravo team, said sternly. Chris nodded at the older man examining him carefully.

Enrico was around the same age of Barry, of similar build except for Barry was probably stronger, his skin looked pale and waxy, and his face, with his short moustache, was set into a determined scowl.

"Likewise Enrico, so what's going on?"

Enrico shook his head noncommittally, "Can't say Chris, take a seat, Wesker should be here soon he'll explain it all"

Chris frowned, Enrico wasn't usually so tight-lipped. He did what he was told though and leaned against his desk beside Joseph and Forest.

The other member of Alpha team, Joseph, was impatiently fingering his custom shotgun, the young man was the youngest member of Alpha team and was known for being headstrong, yet he was a formidable cop and his mechanical expertise was well respected among the group.

The other man lounging against Chris's desk was shorter then he but well muscled with tattoos covering his bare arms, Forest was a member of Bravo team and although the same age as Chris he looked much younger with a carefree grin spread across his face. At the moment he was watching his surroundings with amusement uncaring of the chaos of the situation but rather seeming to be enjoying it.

A sniper rifle was laid carefully across Forest's lap and the man was stroking it as if it were a favoured pet, Chris was once again reminded that Forest was an expert in his deadly craft.

"Know what's going on?" Joseph asked quietly, his eyes fixed on some point on the wall ahead.

Chris shook his head, Forest eyed the two of them then gave his bandanna wearing friend a punch on the arm over Chris's back.

"Cheer up you sod, you look like you just got bitch slapped by your girlfriend" He joked lightly.

Joseph glanced at him momentarily before looking back into the distance; Forest shrugged then met Chris's gaze quizzically.

"Surely you've heard something mate?"

Chris shrugged, "Just some news from a rookie in the reception, something about cannibal gangs"

Forest nodded thoughtfully, "Same as, seems the higher ups have all got their panties in a twist about it, though I can understand, fucking cannibals? I thought rapists and murderers was the worse we had here"

"Hey you'd be surprised what people can do Forest" Chris said, the sniper shook his head sorrowfully muttering "Ain't that fucking right" to himself.

Chris stood up leaving the two to their thoughts and looking around for Jill, he found her talking to Rebecca, the youngest member of Bravo team.

He watched the young girl closely; Rebecca was only nineteen but had quickly risen through the ranks and been placed on the Bravo team when its old medic had retired. Some people voiced rumours that the girl had 'done some favours' to the officers to promote her but after talking to the girl, and even looking at her, he doubted it.

Although she had only been with Bravo team a few months she had proven she was an exceptional medic and was a well-trained combatant too, she was disciplined but also quiet and shy though she had acted as the voice of reason among Bravo teams many squabbles and spats.

She was tiny it seemed, barely five foot seven and with a delicate frame, 'petite' he supposed. Her hair was a light hazel and cut short exposing a delicate neck and shoulders, her eyes were youthful and brown coloured and her features had a teenage 'prettiness' to her.

Chris snorted at his evaluation, truth be told she was very hot and he wouldn't say no to her in bed but she was way too young for him and besides he wasn't even sure if she had ever even had sex.

She blushed often enough at the guys rude jokes and had never, to Chris's knowledge, accepted a date from one of the guys on the teams or otherwise.

'Maybe she's a lesbian?' he wondered, noticing how quickly a friendship had grown between her and Jill and how the younger girl always seemed most comfortable in Jill's presence it could be possible.

He almost smacked himself at the thought, just because a girl didn't accept dates and liked the company of her own sex didn't make her gay.

'Still I might have competition if she is' Chris mused, then quickly crushed the thought.

Jill had caught his attention, she was waving him over; he smiled at the invitation and walked over to the girls.

"What's up?"

Jill smiled and nudged Rebecca; the girl coughed in embarrassment and hid her face.

"Rebecca's been snooping around and thinks she's found some more info about this incident" Jill said with a soft smile at the girl.

Rebecca blushed and mumbled something incomprehensible, Chris raised an eyebrow in amusement at her embarrassment.

"Ahem, as I was 'telling' Jill its nothing more then rumours but some of the physicians and morticians examining the bodies of the victims had been going on about something else they found on the bodies. They wouldn't elaborate but they hinted that this had something to do with the threat of quarantining the city" She took a breath and then watched to see their reactions.

Chris frowned as he thought about it, "Personally I'm not surprised, we're not always given all the details of every conspiracy that goes on in this city," Chris said truthfully.

Jill nodded then saying a quick goodbye to Rebecca lead Chris over to a corner of the room; Chris asked her what was up with a look alone.

"I believe there's more to what Rebecca found out, after the briefing I'm going to meet a friend of mine, a coroner at the city morgue and see if I can convince him to tell me anything"

Chris thought this over, "What sort of 'convincing', how much does he ask?"

Jill smiled and stretched leisurely; Chris wasn't the only one to look, he noticed.

"There's always the more 'fun' kind of convincing" Jill said, grinning impishly.

Chris couldn't fight the stab of jealousy that he felt at those words, he cocked his head and looked down on her seriously.

"I could always provide another form of 'convincing' if you want?" Chris said, punching his fist into the palm of his hand meaningfully.

Jill laughed and looked up at him teasingly, "Why Chris, you're not jealous are you?"

Chris quickly babbled his denials but he could tell in her sparkling eyes she didn't believe him… but she didn't seem annoyed though.

She smiled and rubbed at her neck bashfully, "Don't worry I was gonna go for the tried and tested method anyway, a good old bribe, she looked up at him softly, so don't worry ok?"

Chris nodded feeling uncomfortably at Jill's beautiful, but too knowing stare; he coughed and quickly thought of something to change the subject.

"So how are you and Rebecca getting along? She doing ok in Bravo team?" Chris asked.

Jill frowned at the subject change and seemed to consider what to say, "She's enjoying the work and the responsibility but has some doubts"

Chris looked over at Rebecca in confusion; the girl was chatting to Brad and seemed to be happy enough.

"Doubts?"

"Yes, she's not sure people believe she's worthy of the job or that she got here on merit and not… other means" Jill said sadly.

Chris frowned as he thought this over, insight suddenly smacked him in the forebrain and he looked over at the kid sternly.

"Is someone giving her hassle?" He growled.

Jill had sensed his thoughts and quickly took his arm, "Don't worry about her Chris, she's tougher then she looks and a few snide comments made in locker rooms aren't gonna faze her in the long term. Besides Forest and Joseph have already promised to beat the hell out of whoever she points out"

Chris smirked and looked appreciatively at the two men in question, Forest had obviously snapped Joseph out of his thoughts and the two were now entertaining Rebecca. The girl was rolling her eyes at the twos antics but her smile was very much real.

The door to the STARS office swung open and silence immediately took hold in the room, a tall darkly dressed man entered the room and quietly looked around him from behind the cover of his sunglasses.

"At ease" He said passively before softly closing the door and stalking over to the front of the room, depositing some paperwork he held onto the front desk.

The STARS relaxed and began to mutter among themselves excitedly, if the man noticed their impatience he didn't comment.

'Mysterious as always' Chris thought as he watched the older man organise his files, he coughed meaningfully and was gratified when the sunglasses looked up at him.

"Yes Chris?" he asked patiently.

"So what's this emergency meeting all about sir? We're all itching to know" Chris questioned.

"In just a moment Chris" The man said calmly before returning to his paperwork.

Chris snorted in annoyance, frankly he shouldn't be surprised not to get an answer.

Albert Wesker was, as ever, a difficult man to read. Behind the dark sunglasses that Wesker 'always' wore it was impossible to know what was going on in the mans head.

Chris believed that Wesker was probably a few years older then himself but he couldn't be sure, his commander had never divulged any personal details about himself, not even something as trivial as his own age.

Wesker had been the overall commander of STARS ever since it was first created a few years ago, the man had personally picked the members himself from various ex-covert operatives and Special Forces.

Chris still remembered that long gone day when Barry had knocked on his apartment door after he had been discharged from the air force, his old friend had told him about the job on offer and Chris had accepted. Now two years on he didn't regret anything.

'Still, he thought in amusement, if it weren't for Barry's recommendation I doubt Wesker would have employed me'

Although he believed he had proven himself to Wesker, he knew he was a good officer and worthy of Stars, yet the two men rarely saw eye to eye though not enough to the point of open fights.

'Wesker's far too cool headed for that'

Still despite his coldness Wesker was a respected and responsible leader, though many of the Stars wouldn't count him as a friend they all at least trusted his judgement.

All eyes fixed on Wesker when he gave a light cough for attention; Chris frowned when he noticed Barry looked uncomfortable for some reason.

"Ladies and gentlemen, ive just come from a special conference with the mayor and Chief Irons, I'll start with telling you that this mission we have just been given is of vital importance…"

Chris noticed that Wesker looked strangely thrilled about something, a slight smile came to his lips as he repeated, "yes… of vital importance"

"Is it something to do with this mornings news sir?" Enrico asked.

Wesker nodded, "Yes Enrico as some of you are aware, and the rest of you should have found out, there has been a violent and tragic attack against several families residing in the Raccoon City suburbs close to the mountains"

"Details are sketchy, Wesker began to pass out some paperwork to the nearest Stars, we know not the numbers, motivations, or whereabouts of the group or possibly groups that have committed these crimes"

He leaned towards his desk laying his hands across the polished wood, "Though the most horrible aspect of this case, which unfortunately the media has found out, is that all the victims have been devoured. Some partially while others have been stripped to the bone, as it were"

The Stars began to mutter nervously amongst themselves and Chris could see why, he had just been passed some photos of the victims and it wasn't a pretty sight.

Rebecca gasped and covered her mouth in shock as she examined the pictures, beside her Joseph looked disgusted while Brad looked ready to be sick.

All around the rooms the Stars mirrored each other's disgust and revulsion at the photos.

Waiting a few moments for the mutterings to finish Wesker continued, "As you can see these photos have the public terrified and we Stars have been ordered to get to the bottom of this"

Wesker went over to the whiteboard laid against the wall behind his desk and began to quickly write down some directives.

"So we have several objectives, Bravo team you will be exploring the suburbs, talk to the people there, the friends of the families, work colleges, people who know the area. Find out any strange rumours or whispers going around if any, find out if the families had any enemies who would do this to them or anything about strange groups or people skulking around the area"

The Bravo team nodded in agreement discussing amongst themselves about their orders.

"Alpha team I want you to check out past reports of the area especially missing peoples reports that were never solved. I could be wrong but I suspect whoever this group is they have been operating around the mountains before and missing hikers and such could give us insight into their activities"

Chris and Jill nodded, already Chris could think of several such instances that were worth investigating.

"Lastly I want both teams to do a sweep of the surrounding forest in the suburbs, this will happen tomorrow with K-9 units and police support, id like to find something quickly and nip this case in the bud"

Again Chris noticed that Wesker looked strangely pleased, "Though I doubt we'll find anything, if they're smart the group has probably moved on deep into the mountains" he said distractedly.

He handed out some more files then packed up his stuff and headed to the door, at the exit he turned fixing his teams with a steely gaze.

"Get stuck into this people and don't piss about… this case is more important then any of us" He said mysteriously before leaving.

The Stars stood dumbfounded for a moment before the uproar started.

"What the hells he mean 'this case is more important then any of us' what the fucks that all about?"

"Obviously the public is worried about this and Wesker and the police are being pressured to solve it quickly"

"Seen those pictures? Man that was some crazy shit!"

Barry quickly stepped in raising his hands for silence, "People would you stop the damn questioning? We're Stars and we have our orders, so act professional and hop to it!"

Chastened by Barry's firm words the two teams looked at each other sheepishly, Enrico nodded at Barry and Chris and motioned for his team to follow him, the Bravo team said their farewells and filed out of the room.

"So where to first?" Joseph asked, Brad looked to Chris and Barry questioningly too.

"I've got some leads ill check out. Brad, Joseph, wanna go and get an inventory sorted for tomorrow then have a look through the R.P.D records for missing persons, you know what to look for" Chris ordered, the guys nodded and hurried out, in Weskers absence the two men would follow Chris or Barry's commands unquestionably.

Jill quickly stowed away her files in her desk then turned to Barry and Chris with a hand on her hip thoughtfully.

"Ill head down the mortuary and check out my contact there, I'll meet you guys later," She said before grabbing her jacket and walking out, the two men watched her leave.

"And us?" Barry asked with a smile.

Chris grinned back at his friend pleased to see him finally crack a smile today.

"We'll head down town and ask around a bit at the reporters hangouts for info… then grab all our files and the team and discuss them over a pint" Chris said with a sardonic smirk.

Barry eyed Chris in amusement but didn't object the two men grabbed their coats and the paperwork Wesker gave them and headed out into the city.

'This is going to be an interesting case, Chris thought, I just bloody know it'

Chapter 8.

The house of horrors.

Back in the Raccoon forest resting on the high peaks of the Arkley Mountains the sun had finally risen bathing the woodlands in its golden glow.

For many creatures of the mansion grounds this was a time to hide in the shadows and burrow into the earth, the nightmare creatures detested the pure light of the sun.

But for some the light was a welcome relief and a small blessing in this world, for Lisa she was, as always, resting on her cabin roof watching as the suns fiery light began to peek across the horizon.

As ever she welcomed the dawn of another day and uttered a silent thanks to whatever angel still watched over her, she smiled tranquilly as the soft light flowed over her body caressing her with its golden touch.

Her amber eyes looked out upto the sky admiring the blue cloudless sky and beautiful rising sun. 'Today feels like a good day' she thought as she breathed deep of the crisp early morning air.

Her ritual maintained Lisa leapt from the roof and retired to her cabin and her cavernous home, she had a lot of thinking to do.

Hazard lazily opened a single eye his sleepy gaze staring out of the treehouse and towards the brightly illuminated forest that lay beyond him.

The tyrant opened his eyes fully, blinking rapidly to clear the gunk from them. He rubbed at his eyes with the knuckles of his hands while yawning widely showing off his long teeth, he sat up stretching fully and giving a pleasurable moan as his muscles and bones unwound.

Still with heavy eyes the tyrant looked around him blearily wondering for a moment where he was, who he was, and whether that girl in the crimson dress had been real?

'No she wasn't idiot' Hazards subconscious said, Hazard swore he could almost hear it yawning within his skull.

"Freaky" Hazard muttered to himself, he wearily got to his feet stretching further with his claws and tail outstretched.

'God that's good, ok then what memories have I got in my head?'

Hazard mentally glanced at his subconscious but it shrugged and glared back at him sleepily, 'Work it out yourself, we're not doing everything for you' it said moodily.

'No help there then' Hazard thought, he frowned and began to review what happened yesterday.

"Oh yeah… I'm a monster, phew I was worried for a moment there" Hazard said sarcastically, his subconscious merely blinked at him owlishly.

Ok he had woken up in a lab, got some of his shoulder bitten off, had some fights and found some tragedies. The tyrant shuddered as he recalled the bagged bodies in the labs and the children.

Then escaped to the sewers, met a giant reptile thingy, had another fight with a tentacle creature in a cabin then ran through the forest to, Hazard looked around himself, here?

'Yes here, this treehouse where I crashed for the night and intend to never do so again' Hazard grumbled while rubbing at some of the soreness his body felt from such an uncomfortable sleeping place.

Pacing around to stretch his legs Hazard and swished his tail about to relax it he then walked over to the treehouse entrance.

And gasped in amazement at the sight before him.

The sun had just risen and was still low in the sky bathing the area in brilliant light, Hazard had to squint to look out over the forest as he committed everything to detail.

The forest itself stretched for miles before him, with the early morning light it looked as if the forest was ablaze with a crimson glow. It was truly an awesome sight.

Hazard could just make out mountainous peaks rising in the distance, the towers of rock loomed above the forest majestically and Hazard admired their white and blue frames as clouds nuzzled the peaks.

Stepping out onto the tree Hazard took hold of a strong tree limb and leaned out over the edge looking around him curiously.

The forest continued in all directions into the horizon and in the far distance Hazard could make out more mountainous peaks, it seemed that this forest was… cut off?

Isolated by the peaks?

Hazard felt a brief stab of annoyance, by the looks of it hiking out of here would be near impossible without large supplies of food and equipment.

Hazard quickly swung out of the treehouse and climbed higher up the tree, scaling the thinning branches easily Hazard reached the top of the canopy for an all-round view.

A world of green greeting him as Hazard clung to the gently swaying branches, he hissed in frustration carefully turning in a circle looking for some sign of civilisation in this hidden forest.

He almost fell of his perch when he gave a shriek of glee as he spied a building half hidden by the forest to the west of him, with the sun behind him he didn't have to worry about the glare so he could easily view this structure.

Hazard gave a low whistle as he spied the grand building, it looked like some kind of mansion, three storeys tall and almost a mile in length it seemed. Hazard was oddly reminded of a fairytale, the beautiful mansion hidden deep in an isolated forest.

'Or a horror story, remember the lab files' Hazards subconscious warned.

Hazard frowned as he considered this eyeing the mansion suspiciously; the lab files had mentioned the mansion.

'If there's zombies and reptile things underground and in the forest then it's surely certain that they're in that building too'

Hazard rubbed at his chin with a claw, he didn't like this. Would it be worthwhile to escape that lab and sewer only to enter another monster infested place?

'But what choice do I have? I have to find out more about this place and if that's where I'll find the info that's where I'll go'

So decided Hazard carefully dropped back down into the treehouse wiping off some leaves and pacing around thoughtfully.

After a few moments Hazard drew his knife examining the blade carefully then sheathing it again but more loosely, he then unclipped his small crossbow checking the bolt was still secure then looked out into the forest again.

He took a breath then exhaled slowly, "Here goes nothing" he muttered before moving to the edge of the treehouse and leaping to the ground.

He hit the floor without a hitch then ran off into the greenery the mansions position fixed in his mind.

As he ran the forest remained silent, no bird songs, no noise of animal movements, just the rustle of leaves in the wind.

Hazard ran and he couldn't help but feel that the forest was silently watching him… or if not the trees then something else.

A green eye watched as Hazard ran by, the owner examined the strange creature carefully noting its claws and physique and wondering at how much of a threat this new prey could be.

Still it had already eaten so the eye didn't give chase but it made a note to remember that creature, something told it there was something different about that one.

Strong coils moved and enormous fangs glistened as venom dribbled down their length, the forest itself seemed to shudder as the evil slithered by their trunks.

"Ssssss"

Lisa had lain on her bed for the past few hours tossing and turning restlessly.

After the encounter last night she had retired to her cabin and her bed, she had slept for a few hours then awakened to watch the dawn.

After that she had planned to sleep the day away, the body of the deer that was safely hidden in her supply cave meant she didn't have to worry about hunting today.

Yet she couldn't get that damn face out of her head!

Everytime she closed her eyes she saw that strange creatures purple face and bright golden eyes, she shuddered as she recalled his smile as he had turned to face her after she killed that hunter attacking him.

It had been so nice to see a smile… then she had thwacked him and that smile had vanished.

'Serves me right for hitting him I suppose' Lisa thought glumly, she snorted in disgust and rolled onto her side burying her head in her sheets in annoyance.

She felt herself relaxing and her tentacles slumped over her lazily, she closed her eyes and smiled tiredly idly wondering what that creature was doing now.

Her eyes snapped open and she gave a scream of rage at her thoughts, damn it what was wrong with her! What did she care what he did with his time, he was just another monster here, just another threat!

Tearing the covers from her she beat at her pillows in a fit of rage her tentacles slashing through the air in agitation.

After a few moments she collapsed on the bed idly blowing hair away from her eyes, she lay curled upon herself for a few moments thinking carefully.

With a sigh she sat up and swung her feet over the edge of the bed, her feet searched around for a moment before slipping into the worn furry slippers at the base of the bed.

She carefully stood up, grunting in pain as the weight of her cuff kicked in, adjusting to it she paced around her bedroom in a distracted circle.

Scooping a worn teddy from her bed with a tentacle she held it up to her eyes looking for inspiration in the dolls button eyes.

"What should I do Ted? Kill him or… or… or I don't know?" She wailed in desperation.

The teddy remained silent and continued to smile at Lisa with its fading stitching, she sighed and hugged it close to her murmuring apologises to the doll for shouting.

She had never felt so confused before, she barely knew the creature, for all she knew he was just as nasty as the bad men who hurt her so many years ago were.

And yet he had hesitated to strike, he had her at a disadvantage and he hadn't struck… surely that counted for something?

And his eyes… Lisa shivered as she recalled those beautiful golden orbs. There had been no evil or cruelty in his gaze just confusion and sadness when she had struck.

She growled in annoyance at her actions, a part of her wanted to try and talk to the creature, a part of her desperately needed company.

That part of her also whispered that if she didn't get it soon her and sanity were going to part ways forever.

But the more violent part of Lisa, the part that had helped her survive and was animalistic said to kill him.

He was a threat to her; he could hurt her in more ways then the physical if she and him became friends.

He would have power over her, power to hurt her heart and destroy it forever.

'But surely… it's worth the risk?' She wondered.

She stood in the centre of her room stroking her Ted indecisively for a moment before coming to a decision.

Gently placing Ted back on her bed she moving to her dress mirror, glancing at her reflection for a second she quickly picked up her mask of faces that hung over the back of the dressers stool.

Placing it over her face and arranging it for maximum effect in the mirror she didn't even blink as the faces screamed silently at her.

Lisa had long ago stopped listening to their screams when she looked in a mirror.

Once suitably placed so that any monster she encountered would get a massive shock whatever angle it looked at her Lisa threw off her slippers and quickly scaled the ladder leading out of her 'bedroom'.

She was going to the treehouse again.

And hopefully she'd have decided what to do when she got there.

Hazard had been wandering through the forest for about ten minutes before he spotted the mansion in the distance, seeing as it was almost completely hidden by the forest, even by daylight, he could see why he missed it during the night.

Finally he cleared the forest and the young tyrant gazed up in awe at the magnificent structure that loomed above him. He judged himself to be at the front entrance as he admired the huge ornate double doors before him and the pillars that surrounded it holding aloft a part of the buildings second floor.

Looking left and right he guessed that the mansion had been here for some time, the walls were cracked and scarred in places exposing crumpling mortar and rotten wood, though some windows remained unbroken the majority had long been smashed by either nature, or some monster perhaps.

The mansion extended for some distance either way and Hazard guessed that the building was probably bigger, and longer, then what he could see.

Hazard stood still with ears erect and on tiptoe as he strained his senses listening intently, he couldn't hear much over the oppressive silence of the forest but he could faintly hear movement inside the building. Though uninhabited it was definitely not unoccupied.

Sneaking quietly up to the front doors Hazard tried a peek through the long glass windows that rested either side of the door, unfortunately the dirt, dust and cobwebs only allowed a vague image. He got the impression that the room beyond was probably very big though.

Taking a deep breath Hazard grasped the double doors handles and gave a mighty push, the doors swung open with a spooky creak and Hazard had a full view inside.

'Wow'

Hazard gasped in amazement at the sight before him as he carefully stepped inside the mansion, he almost slid as he slipped on the marble floor and dug his footclaws in for grip.

He was in a massive great hall, the roof hung storeys above him, it seemed, and a massive chandelier dominated the centre of the room with smaller ones dotted around the room.

Before him was a thick red carpet that ran off in a straight line to a set of stairs at the end of the hall, it then split in two flowing left and right then twisting back towards the doors covering the second floor balcony he guessed.

The architecture and beauty was incredible, Hazard walked carefully over to the stairs gently running a clawed hand over the wooden banisters, the attention to detail was astounding as small carved patterns and ribbons danced around the wood.

Quickly climbing the stairs he went onto the second floor seeing rows of doors on either side, he wondered how many rooms this place had.

Leaned out over the banister he grinned in pleasure as he beheld the great hall with its chandeliers, marble floor and fancy carpet, ornate windows with exotic curtains, and dotted with huge portrait paintings on the walls.

He tapped a claw against the banister considering this place carefully.

'Obviously this place had been absolutely gorgeous when it was cleaned and cared for, though its still a good looker… better then a treehouse!'

Hazard cocked his head listening again and breathing deep of the air, the air told him of rot and pestilence but also of musty furnishings and age. The slow shambling that echoed around the mansion told him more zombies occupied this place.

'But they're easily dealt with… I'm not afraid of a few zombies, Hazard thought with a growing fanged grin, surely there's not too many and can be easily cleared out'

'There could be crimsons though' Hazards subconscious warned.

Hazard snorted, 'I can handle anything they can dish out' he thought in bravado.

He paced around admiring the paintings especially one directly behind him that depicted a happy family all together; yes this place was certainly nice.

He leaned back against the banister thinking about the humans, he doubted that any of them lived here anymore and if anyone wanted this mansion they would have claimed it a long time ago.

Hazard balled his hands into a fist dancing about and pumping the air in delight, that meant that…

"THIS PLACE IS MINE HAHA!" Hazard screamed ecstatically. Grinning happily he sat down comfortably on the old carpet.

"I'm gonna need to put a lot of thought into this" He murmured to himself thoughtfully.

Lisa was annoyed.

She had arrived at the treehouse, carefully creeping through the forest to avoid being seen, climbing up the tree with the utmost silence and then discovered the place to be empty.

She snorted angrily as she surveyed the treehouse; it was just like this creature to make her so confused then to disappear when she finally worked up the nerve to talk to it.

She sniffed the air deeply and examined the tree carefully, the purple things scent was still heavy in the air and the fresh claw marks on the tree branches were no more then an hour old.

Climbing on top of the treehouse she saw further signs that the creature had stood here, probably to examine the surrounding area.

Looking around Lisa saw the mansion clearly in the distance, she was reasonably sure that the creature would have headed towards it out of curiosity.

She leap from the tree canopy hitting the ground unharmed and quickly running as fast as her chains would allow her.

Why of all places did that 'pest' have to walk right into the mansion?

Into the monsters lair itself.

Hazard had returned to the first floor and was currently admiring a large beautifully painted blue vase on a small table beside the stairs when the feeling hit him.

It had been steadily growing all morning, a strange tightness in his groin, not the… organ there but rather under the skin just behind it.

Still Hazard had been ignoring it but now he winced and gave a quick gasp of pain, as the sensation became rather acute.

Hunching up and with his legs crossed Hazard wondered what this strange feeling was? Was this some kind of 'Hazard-virus' mutation manifesting itself?

'No stupid, we need to pee' His subconscious chuckled.

Hazard frowned as he processed this information; now that he thought about it was probably most likely.

Glancing around him Hazard swore as the pain became more intense, where was the damn toilet?

He considered just going on the floor but quickly crushed the disgusting thought this place didn't exactly have a maid service anymore.

'Go outside!' His subconscious yelled.

Hazard nodded and quickly rushed for the front door, throwing it open he blinked at the sunlight then quickly rushed over to the nearest tree and waist high bushes.

"Wait one moment" Hazard pleaded to his bladder as he fumbled around his belt unhooking his small crossbow and holding it tight in his right claw.

"Oookkkay" He murmured as he undid the zip of his jeans, the young tyrant glanced around nervously feeling very exposed outside the mansion and in broad daylight! He mentally told his bladder to hurry up.

Hazard groaned pleasurably, smiling slightly as his bladder emptied itself for the first time, he cooed as he relived himself against the tree.

Hazard attuned ears twitched as he heard a faint rustle to his left in the forest; he squeaked in fright then quickly levelled his crossbow towards the area glancing between the forest and his… whatever.

He urged himself to finish praying that some zombie or, heaven forbid a reptile thing, wouldn't lunge for him.

'If it does its getting an arrow between the eyes' He thought irritably, you couldn't even go to the toilet without watching your back here!

Once finished he hurriedly zipped himself up then back to the mansion doors glancing back towards the forest as he opened the doors, he narrowed his eyes and peered into the greenery but couldn't see anything there.

'Maybe I'm just getting jumpy' He mused as he closed the mansion door behind him.

'Well… that was an interesting show'

Lisa leaned against the tree sighing wearily at how strange her life had become. She had taken shelter behind this tree when the creature had heard her movements and glanced towards her. She smirked slightly as she remembered how he had almost jumped out of his skin with fright.

She looked back towards the mansion almost laughing at the hilarity of the situation, she had never expected to see a male in such a vulnerable position.

She scowled momentarily as she remembered other times she had seen a male's 'dick', 'cock', or some other disgusting slang for them. The males she had seen had flaunted their organs… to them it was a tool to inflict pleasure and pain… only pleasure for themselves though.

But this creature… he had seemed so shy and nervous and somewhat hesitant to expose himself, she giggled as she remembered how he had moaned happily at first then gave a cute squeak when he believed someone to be watching him.

'Perhaps he is different to those other males?' Lisa wondered. This latest incident between them, though he had been unaware, had made her yet again question the evil of all males.

As she hobbled towards the mansion intent on finding this creature and perhaps saying hello. She thought it darkly ironic that the male that looked like a monster seemed to be much more kind and innocent then any others.

"Maybe god has a sense of humour?" Lisa muttered as she carefully pried open the mansion doors.

Hazard had 'ip-dip-dooed' again and decided to take the bottom left door from the front entrance.

He carefully opened it stepping inside the huge room before him, yet again admiring the stunning beauty of this place.

He was in a dining room with a massively long wooden table dominating the centre of the room. Empty dust covered plates and cutlery along with old candlesticks rested upon it.

Hazard cocked his head as he picked up a loud ticking noise echoing around the room; he looked along the right hand side of the hall seeing a large grandfather clock ticking loudly.

'Wow I'm amazed it still works' Hazard thought as he walked over to it admiring the craftsmanship.

Glancing to the left of it he saw a large oil painting set on the wall, the tyrant grimaced in distaste as it depicted two men stabbing each other with swords.

"Cheerful picture" He muttered, glancing behind him Hazard saw something much more comely.

The left side wall was rowed with long towering windows and from them streams of light flowed into the room like glowing pathways, Hazard smiled happily as the light reflected off thousands of dust particles in the air making the whole room shimmer.

'Nice' Looking around Hazard saw a lighted fire at the far end of the room with a display area; he saw several tall pillars there and looked up.

'Hmm, second floor balcony?' Hazard wondered, above him a balcony ringed the room and was held up by the pillars that surrounded the room.

'Whoever built this put a lot of effort into it' Hazards subconscious said reverently.

'Ain't that right' Hazard thought in admiration.

He walked along the huge room his footfalls echoing around the room with the clocks loud ticking.

At the far end Hazard stopped as he saw a body laying next to the fireplace, raising his crossbow towards it he stepped forward cautiously.

There was a lot of blood, a large pool in which the body centred, Hazard noticed that the blood had congealed so the body had been here for awhile.

The body itself was most likely a man though as it was lying face down he couldn't be sure, but due to its lack of hair, sturdy frame and masculine clothes he guessed he was right.

Edging closer Hazard saw that its clothes were torn and ripped along its back and shoulder, deep bite marks coated with infectious slime covered the exposed flesh.

Hazard looked towards a door to his right seeing faint bloody streaks leading towards it, perhaps this person had been wounded then dragged himself here?

Hazard stepped closer his tail swishing anxiously and his muscles tensed to leap back to safety, he gave the body a careful dig with his foot then hopped back.

The body didn't move.

Hazard tried again and still nothing happened, he breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed this corpse was just that.

Lowering his crossbow he considered what to do with it… perhaps he should bury it outside?

He had just made his decision and stepped forward when the body suddenly came to life, its head snapped up and its pale white eyes staring hungrily at Hazard as its arms lunged for him.

With a cry of surprise Hazard dodged back out of the zombie's range, failing to catch him it gave a dull moan and slowly levered itself to its feet.

Hazard snarled in disgust as the zombie groaned and began to hobble towards him, filthy blood-caked hands stretched towards him and rotted teeth gnashing together excitedly.

The tyrant snorted amusedly as the dead man shuffled towards him, with a cheeky grin he raised his crossbow towards its head, he waited until it was within arms reach of him before pulling the trigger.

The weapon gave a loud 'twang' as its bolt was fired forward and the zombie's head was thrown back as the bolt smashed into its forehead. The bolt pierced the decayed flesh easily shooting through its skull and brain and stopping in a pillar behind the zombie.

The zombie swayed on its feet a look of surprise on its features as dark blood trickled from its head, it took a step forward and Hazard darted back unsure if the bolt had done any damage.

He needn't have worried, the zombie pitched forwards after its step and fell face first onto the marble floor, the impact made a loud wet smack and then the zombie lay still.

Not taking any chances Hazard quickly unsheathed his knife and stabbed it into the zombie's brain, it didn't even twitch.

'Yep its definitely dead' Hazard thought with a cocky grin, twirling his knife he sheathed it and strutted forward victoriously.

Hazard had spent a few moments examining the fire and a large wooden emblem set above it, he had found that the emblem could be removed but hadn't seen a reason to take it yet so filed it for future reference.

To the right of the fireplace under the pillars had been another door that Hazard had carefully opened and stepped inside.

'Somewhat cosy, I guess?' Hazard thought as he eyed the long dark corridor he was in, the passageway extended in only two directions, a row of doors was to his right and to his left was some kind of sitting area.

The only light source was provided by a small window in the study area facing down the corridor, the small amount of sunlight only illuminated the immediate area.

Hazard sniffed the air again but couldn't detect anything hostile so guessed that this corridor was safe, he decided to go right and return after exploring those doors.

The tyrant found the darkness grew progressively worse the further he went; though Hazards eyesight easily compensated for the dimming light.

The first door was firmly locked, fiddling about with it he guessed it was a simple latch that locked the door from the other side.

Hazard considered smashing the door down but that might attract unwanted attention so he moved on.

The next door was also firmly locked though from Hazards side this time, curiously the keyhole had a small engraving of a breastplate above it, Hazard wondered at the significance of this.

Still he couldn't open it, and he didn't want to break the door so he went deeper into the passageway finding another corner that lead into almost pitch blackness.

Hazard hesitated at the corner, though he may be able to see his eyesight would still be severely reduced so whatever enemy might be round the corner would have the advantage.

"Come on you wimp show some guts" Hazard reprimanded himself, steeling himself he drew his knife holding it low and ready as he sprang round the corner.

His eyes squinted into the darkness but he found himself able to see the outline of the corridor just about, he advanced into the darkness finding that the passage curved yet again and suddenly he found himself at the top of some stairs.

Hazard eyed the filthy staircase warily as the grimy steps and crumbling walls that boxed it in looked dangerous by themselves.

'Must lead to some kind of cellar?' Hazards subconscious suggested.

Hazard growled as he considered the wetly rusty door at the bottom of the stairs… many horror movies had taught Hazards personality an important lesson.

'Never go into any monster infested houses basement without backup and serious weaponry or have your head ripped off and your eyeballs eaten'

'Now that I think about it I swear that philosophy came from 'The Cellar Dweller' Hazard thought.

'Regardless, Hazards subconscious said primly, we should be on our guard if we go down there'

"To enter possible monster infested basement, or not to… that is the question" Hazard sighed. He glanced at his weapons and thought, 'To hell with it' and began to descend.

Lisa had a tentacle wrapped round the mansion doors handle but had yet to open the door.

Actually anyone looking closer would see that the tentacle was shaking faintly and that its owner was still and silent.

Lisa's eyes looked into the mansion seeing back through the mists of time and remembering with horrible clarity the suffering she endured within its walls. The girl shivered and a sharp gasp escaped her trembling lips as her tentacle began to slowly unwind from the doorknob… she couldn't go in there again.

'Never again, I can't go through all that again'

But as she began to take a step back she remembered the golden eyes and the smile. She glanced back at the huge double doors that radiated evil back at her.

"He doesn't deserve to be alone there" she whispered to herself, 'nobody deserves to suffer like me in there'.

Still fear held her in place, she knew that the scientists were dead, she KNEW that the man with the sunglasses and the other with the innocent face and beautiful blue eyes, that contained such a dark soul, were gone too.

But over several decades of pain had imprinted the message that the mansion was a bad place and Lisa would only feel pain in there.

'But HE is alone in there, the gold eyes are alone in there'

He wasn't ready; he had no idea of what monsters lived in there. Evil was in the mansions very WALLS not just in the physical monsters that wandered the halls.

The tentacle-bearing girl squared her shoulders, took a deep breath and threw a venomous glare at the double doors.

'This creature is more trouble then he's worth' she thought angrily, she felt glad to be angry now it gave her focus.

She was going to go in there and drag that creature out by his hair if necessary, then beat him up for the annoyance he was.

Then talk to him… and probably beat him up again just on principal afterwards.

So decided she rushed to the huge front doors of the mansion and threw them open, stepping inside and beginning her search before fear could take her.

'What a DUMP!'

Hazard held a ragged end of his lab coat to his nose as he gazed around him in revulsion; the smell this room gave off was as strong as a biological weapon!

He had entered the basement and found that it was a kitchen and pantry for the mansion, aged cooking wear and machines lined the left-side wall with shelves, cupboards, and possibly a fridge resting along the right.

What generated the stink, (other then the near fatal lack of cleaning in this room) was a massive wooden table that dominated the centre of the room, rotted with age and absolutely stacked with decomposing food.

He edged as close as he dared and he wasn't surprised to see that nothing remotely edible remained among the dishes, most of it looked to have been left for years as all that was left were black sludge's pockmarked with green, orange and other coloured fungal growths.

What was strange to Hazards eyes was that the food looked to have been set for a meal, rusted and filthy cutlery resting side by side with the dishes leading Hazard to believe that whoever had prepared this meal had abandoned it very quickly and never came back.

'Guess when whatever happened… happened, they had to leave immediately and couldn't come back… perhaps because they were killed straight away?'

Hazard glanced around but despite the mess there was no sign of struggle or a fight in this room so the diners couldn't have been attacked when eating.

'Enough thinking we have an important matter to attend to' Hazards subconscious snapped.

"What's that?" Hazard asked as he picked up a fork and poked at an unidentifiable piece of meat, it sank in on itself with an interesting squelch.

'Food'

Hazard grimaced, as at that moment his stomach gave an angry growl, perhaps he should listen to the tummy god?

Hazard turned away from the table, no way was he gonna eat anything there! And examined the various shelves and cupboards dotted around the kitchen.

After a few minutes fruitless searching, (not completely fruitless as he found a very old and green orange… at least he hoped it was once an orange) he stopped outside the thick metal doors that lead into, hopefully, a large fridge.

'Surely something edible survives in there? I mean fridge's are meant to preserve stuff' Hazard reasoned.

'Depends on if it still has power' Hazards subconscious answered.

With a deep breath Hazard gripped the metal handles, wincing at how cold they were, and pulled hard on the doors.

They resisted, years of ice, rust and grime had formed a powerful glue that stuck the doors together, including the added fact that the doors were locked, but with a tyrant's strength and his hunt for food powering him they were reluctantly forced open.

Hazard wrenched the doors open wincing at the high pitched shriek the sliding metal made, he was forced back as cold air and mist blasted out of the open doors, coughing on ice crystals he darted back a safe distance then squinted into the fog.

After a few seconds the mist cleared and Hazard was allowed a full view of the fridge, he whooped with glee as he stepped inside, finding himself surrounded by slabs of meat hanging from the ceiling.

The fridge was the size of a small bedroom with row upon row of various meats lining the centre and shelves of various canned goods and boxes along the walls.

"We hit jackpot!" Hazard hissed excitedly as he carefully laid a hand on a large side of leg. The meat looked to be cow flesh and best of all seemed to be in reasonable condition.

'There's no power here, we cant sense it, but it seems this room was cold enough anyway' Hazards subconscious mused.

'Perk of being locked up underground for so long' Hazard thought happily as he wandered the fridge examining cans and looking in boxes.

'What to eat though?' Hazard wondered as he held up a can of baked beans, the meat was frozen solid and he doubted the cookers worked anymore.

"Can I eat raw meat?" Hazard asked himself, his subconscious considered this before answering, 'Possibly, we are a viral creature now'.

Hazards stomach rumbled painfully again and the tyrant quickly grabbed whatever looked ok, a can and box, and hurried out of the room.

He dumped the food on a clean-ish part of the table then turned and eyed the fridge doors thoughtfully.

"I can't leave it open or it'll all start rotting… or a zombie could wander in and eat it all" He snarled at the thought.

'Can the doors be closed and locked again?' Hazards subconscious asked.

Hazard gave it a shot and forced the two doors, after some strenuous pushing, back to their closed position, but although somewhat shut the doors couldn't be properly closed due to Hazard smashing the lock, the mist floating lazily through the gap between the doors advertised this.

"Need something to lock it" Hazard muttered as he looked around him searchingly. He looked under the table, in the cupboards and around the walls but couldn't find anything of use.

Hazard huffed in annoyance as he stood hands on hips in front of the fridge doors, what he needed was something strong to tie around the fridge doors handles to keep it closed.

'Like a belt?'

Hazard nodded at his subconscious, 'Yes but not my own… I need that'.

He looked around him again and his eyes fell upon some old piping and metal shelving next to the kitchen entrance, he cocked his head as an idea came to him.

Next to the door was a tangle of old pipes, Hazard put his ear against one finding it to be empty with no running… stuff, inside it.

The tyrant rubbed his hands together to warm up then gripped a long piece of pipe at two ends, grunting with effort he pulled at the old metal trying to tear it free.

The metal was putting up a fight and Hazard snarled in rage as a heavy red mist descended over his eyes, 'I am a tyrant and won't be beaten by inanimate metal!' a voice screamed in the dark recesses of his mind.

With a heavy roar he wrenched the pipe free almost falling head over tail with the recoil, Hazard blinked away the strange feeling he had just experienced and examined the piping carefully.

'Don't know what the hell that was just then, how about you?' Hazard asked his subconscious as he pawed the metal in his hands worriedly.

His subconscious remained silent and only offered a mental shrug in explanation, somewhat put off Hazard decided to ignore it and focus on the task at hand.

Turning to the fridge doors Hazard easily wrapped the metal piping around the handles tying it in a strong, but easily reversed knot.

Hazard brushed his hands in satisfaction, "Ok sorted with that… and now, he picked up the food he had taken, we eat"

Lisa turned around slowly in a small circle as she admired the dining room she was in… back in the old days she had never been allowed in here.

'My food was served through a slot in the floor' She thought bitterly as she looked at the huge, grand dining table with its candlesticks and fancy knifes and forks.

Certainly looking over this huge almost royal dining room she couldn't help feel just a little depressed at the vast differences between herself and whatever people dined here.

On a strange whim the girl carefully pulled a chair back and eased herself into the seat, she edged forward and placed her manacled hands on the dusty tabletop looking around her serenely.

She could almost imagine being surrounded by diners, huge plates of food and drink being passed around while all round the air buzzed with pleasant conversation.

Lisa sat back in the chair, closing her eyes and sighing as she enjoyed the quiet and peace of the room, she smiled gently as she imagined herself doing this after stuffing herself and listening to people chat around her.

'It must feel so nice… to be surrounded by your friends at dinner'

She opened her eyes and the illusion was gone, the diners had vanished, the noise had stopped and all around her was silence and a deserted home.

"Just once… I'd like to eat at this table with a friend" She whispered sadly, faint tears pricked her eyes and she wiped them away angrily cursing herself for her momentary weakness.

'Everyone's dead, daddy's dead, mommy's dead, all my friends are gone and I'm alone here, accept it!' she thought moodily, hating herself for thinking about such nice things again.

Already she could feel the old sadness starting to build deep in her chest, she clamped down it as she had done for years and quickly sought for something else to distract her.

'The creature that's who I'm here for'

She hissed in anger at the thought of that creature, it was his entire fault! She was just fine until he wandered into her life and now he had her thinking strange thoughts and remembering painful things! He was nothing but a menace to her!

A part of Lisa knew she was suffering from another of her VERY wild mood swings, in this place she could go from happy to sad, from giggly to psychotic in a heartbeat.

But at the moment all she could think of was the sadness and anger inside her and that the golden eyed creature was responsible.

The girl rushed to her feet knocking back the chair with an echoing bang, her tentacles slashed through the air in simmering rage as she contemplated the things she would do to that horrible creature.

Still she had to find him first, Lisa looked around her again but she had already examined this room and couldn't pick up the creature's scent.

She glanced at the dead body on the floor, possibly the smell of its corruption was throwing her off but she couldn't be sure, nor was she sure whether the creature or something else had killed it. Lisa was not very good at forensics, a deep cut in a body's head could be anything as far as she was concerned, it was dead, that's that and she couldn't really be bothered to examine it further.

Lisa looked above her at the balcony up there; perhaps he had gone to the second floor?

'If he's investigating the mansion he will eventually go up there' She concluded, and with this thought she shuffled back the way she came towards the main hall.

Oh boy was that creature gonna get it when she caught up with him!

Hazard had returned to the dark corridor with the locked rooms and backtracked to the very far end with the illuminating window, to his delight he found a large sofa tucked away in one corner of the little room and decided to make camp here.

"Oh god this is good" Hazard moaned. The sofa was warm and comfy, gave in to pressure just enough and was incredibly soft despite the dust. Hazard wiggled deeper into the fabric glad that, at last, he could lounge on something comfortable.

'I could stay like this for hours! Wish I had something like this to sleep in' Hazard thought as he stretched his feet across the couch, he laid at a relaxing right angle to give his tail room which was currently draped across his back.

'Unfortunately, as comfortable as this sofa is we have to deal with important bodily needs' His subconscious said in amusement.

Hazard groaned, he didn't want to move! However a grumble from his stomach at that moment forced him to grudgingly act.

'Its always moaning at the wrong moments' Hazard thought in annoyed perplexity.

'Ok lets see what we've got" Hazard sat up moving into a comfortable position as he placed the box beside him then held the can up for inspection.

'The labels faded… but the can hasn't been broken so whatever's inside should still be ok'

Unsheathing his knife Hazard sawed at the top of the can for a minute his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth in concentration.

He pumped the air with his arm when he finally sawed through then peered into the gloopy mess with some trepidation, the inside looked like a semi-solid watery mixture with, Hazard leaned closer, big green thingys inside?

Hazard dipped his knife in. Stabbing a 'green thing' and held it up curiously, it looked like some kind of vegetable, kindy lumpy but mainly cylindrical in shape.

Whatever it was it didn't look very healthy or tasty for that matter… perhaps he shouldn't eat it?

His stomach growled again and Hazard winced at the sharp pain, he released a weary sigh, whispered a short prayer, stuffed the vegetable in his mouth, and chewed.

The action Hazard did next was a near silent gag, his face screwed up and his eyes bulged as the unknown vegetable was slowly pulped by his teeth releasing its pungent taste onto his tongue.

'God I feel like I've been punched in the mouth with a mouldy old sock and its stuck around my tonsils!'

'We are not enjoying this either but you must eat!' Hazards subconscious said sharply as Hazard prepared to spit the disgusting morsel out of his mouth. He caught himself at the last moment and with an expression of the utmost suffering continued to chew until he could swallow the vegetable.

'Just as bad at the back as well as the front of the mouth' He thought with a dry wretch, his subconscious remained silent but Hazard could sense it was suffering too.

The tyrant glanced at the can in his hands and the other four vegetables gently swaying within the watery soup, his hand twitched with the edge to throw the can but… the vegetable hadn't been corrupted just tasted nasty.

"It's for the greater good" Hazard whispered as he watched the food with revulsion.

'Its for survival' His subconscious agreed its own voice sounding slightly sick.

The tyrant sighed and quickly stuffed the next one into his mouth, beginning to chew in stony silence.

The can had flown for the first time in its non-life.

At the third vegetable Hazard could take no more and the can had found itself being thrown through a glass window and making a surprisingly long journey of nine meters before being stopped by the skull of a wandering zombie.

Hazard slumped back in the sofa swilling his saliva around his mouth to collect any leftovers before spitting in a random direction, after a few more actions he lay back glaring at nothing in particular.

'I swear starvation or no starvation I will never eat something like that again!'

'The important thing is we ate as many as we could… it should keep us alive a little longer' His subconscious replied with audible relief.

'As many as we could?' Hazard asked curiously.

'Oh god yes! One more and I'd have demanded you throw that hellish stuff at the nearest passing zombie!'

Hazard laughed at his subconscious's indignation, tapping his fingers on the couch and swinging his tail lazily the tyrant relaxed for a few moments trying to erase his memory of that food, until he remembered the box he had brought.

Eyeing said box suspiciously the tyrant picked it up running a claw over its top curiously, the smell from the hidden item was much nicer then the previous food.

'Couldn't be worse then the other stuff' With that thought Hazard stabbed a claw into the cello-tape across the box and easily tore it open, reaching in he pulled out a long strip of meat.

"This is more like it!" Hazard said happily as he sniffed the meat, he couldn't be sure what it was (as long as it smelled nice and was a pink-ish colour he didn't care) but it sure looked tasty!

Holding the meat above his open jaws Hazard slowly lowered the food taking large bites out of the succulent meat with his sharp teeth.

'Oh god!'

It tasted so good, especially after eating that vegetable, Hazard quickly tore the meat apart then devoured the remaining meat in an orgy of consumption.

Afterwards the tyrant gave an appreciative belch and laid back again feeling sated, he grinned pleasantly as he picked at his teeth with the tip of a claw for any spare meat.

'I'll try and stay a carnivore from now on' Hazard thought happily as he licked his lips savouring the residue taste, with his hunger now satisfied Hazard turned his attention to more serious matters.

He now had a food source, granted the food stored in the fridge would only last so long but hopefully another week at least.

And now with food he needed a place of safety where he could dwell and recuperate in.

"Cant exactly sleep here can I" Hazard muttered as he considered how exposed this small stretch of corridor was, although he couldn't hear or smell anything in the vicinity if he were to sleep here he'd probably wake up with teeth clamped onto his neck.

'We should explore more of this mansion' Hazards subconscious said, Hazard nodded in agreement and with a last regretful stretch stood up and turned away from the sofa.

"Ok where to go" Hazard looked around him considering his options, he could return to the main hall and go upstairs or check out this door ahead of him that probably lead further into the ground floor.

'Best to explore one floor at a time?' Hazards subconscious suggested cautiously.

'Agreed'

Hazard moved to the door his steps silent, as he was ever weary of an attack in this place, placing his ear to the door he couldn't hear anything on the other side.

Reaching for the handle he found the door to be unlocked, he gave a short shrug in decision and went through the door.

'Wonder if it'll be a zombie, dead body, random monster, or all of the above in this room?'

Outside under the bright sunlight all seemed peaceful and still in the forest surrounding the mansion.

Of course to an outsider this would always be the case, the creatures of the forest had long ago learned to be silent or else become a meal.

But in some parts of the forest was an altogether more sinister silence, the normal quiet of creatures moving through the dense foliage was gone in this small area of the forest.

For near the path to the tentacle girls cabin was the silence of many creatures holding their breath, forcing themselves not to move… not to breath… not even to blink.

"Sssssss"

To those creatures with heightened hearing the faint sound of rustling among the leaves could be heard.

Noises like something huge and frightening moving with incredibly silent stealth for its size between the trees and hedges.

One such creature was a Hunter who had been fortunate to hear the almost inaudible noise and had been smart enough to hide himself as best he could and try to the best of his ability to stop the sound of his heart beating.

This Hunter had been sent to recover the body of a clan brother, killed last night by the many-faced terror. He had arrived on one side of the path and seen the body and had moved to retrieve it, after all no meat should be wasted.

But as he moved to cross the path he had suddenly become aware of the silence of the forest around him had felt the sudden stillness and sense of danger in the air… and heard the slight noise of something coming towards him.

Something he knew was moving faster then the sound indicated.

Something that drew icy terror from the hearts of all the mansion residents.

Something that was coming this way!

The hunter had thrown caution to the winds and dived back into the forest intent on escaping this place, but once amongst the plants he had lost track of the noise, was the terror in front of him?

Behind him?

Coming from the sides of him?

This uncertainty locked the Hunter in place and as the tension in the air grew to the point where the Hunter felt like screaming just to break it, so he silently laid himself upon the ground and hid in the dirt instead.

His heart was pounding in his chest and the Hunter prayed that the sound wouldn't attract it. He looked out through the bushes around him and could see the dead body of his clan brother on the other side of the dusty path.

"Ssssssss"

A musty stink filled the air and the hunter fought to stop himself gagging, the smell was of rot, corruption, excrement and disease.

The sort of smell death smelled like.

And then the bushes on the other side of the path had moved and the Hunters eyes had stared in terrified wonder at the monstrous creature that had rose from the forest… like a demon emerging from the netherworld.

Sickly green eyes had looked around and the hunter had felt his heart stop for a second as its basilisk stare had resting on his hiding place for a moment. The evil eyes of the beast finished their search of the area and now looked down upon the dead Hunter before it.

The huge mouth had opened into a hideously wide grin; enormous fangs dripping with poison had emerged from the saw-toothed maw as the monster appraised the morsel on the ground.

The head as large as a car swayed from side to side before striking with unholy speed, the Hunter closed its eyes and trembled as it heard the wet crunch of the impact then the furious, and oh so loud, swallowing noise.

When he looked again the last of the dead Hunter had just vanished down the monsters throat, vanished into the dark pit of eternity.

The Hunter hoped now that the monster would just go away, she had fed now would she just leave him alone and alive!

Coils moved and as the eyes turned back towards the forest the hunter breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed slightly.

The tiny amount of pressure he placed onto the ground was just enough to snap the small twig under his right claw.

The monster turned with lightning speed and its eyes glared horribly, but with such accuracy, at the Hunter's resting-place.

The hunter released a dry sob as his eyes met with hers and those blazing green orbs held him in place as if he were drowning in a swamp.

Her mouth opened into her familiar demonic grin as she slithered across the path, the Hunter could not help the small feeling of awe that such a massive creature could exist as she towered above him.

When she reached the treeline her powerful muscles propelled her high into the air as she rose above the trees to look down upon him, she grinned again and the spark of dark triumph glowed in her eyes.

A long forked tongue slashed through the air and the Hunter knew she enjoying the taste of his fear. Her head lowered and soon she was just a few meters from the hunter who still could not make his frozen limbs move as he stared into her eyes.

Her coils moved and soon she was coiling herself around him, not yet grasping him but cutting off his escape… she liked to play with her food.

The Hunter finally found the will to move and he leapt to his feet terror giving him strength as he lashed out with his claws at the giant head hovering above him.

She laughed in her hissing language as she easily rose above the attack, her grin became almost a smile as her coils slowly drew closer to the terrified Hunter as he danced on the spot unsure how to escape this situation.

'Give in to me' her emerald eyes whispered to the Hunter, 'let me wrap myself around you and take away your pain and sorrow, one kiss and you can sleep forever without dreams and only peace'

The Hunter fought against her eyes hypnotic suggestion, so many of his kind had given in to her dark whisperings and he was determined not to be one of them!

He roared in defiance at her and bunching up his legs leapt into the air towards that sadistic smirk, his claws held ready as he prepared to fight this monster and tear her apart.

Quick as thought the monster moved, her coils lashed out and in mid-air the Hunter was caught and held tightly in her crushing grip, she hissed in amusement as he struggled franticly in her grasp.

She watched his struggles for a few more interesting seconds then grew bored… and also grew hungry.

The Hunter felt his breath being forced from his body as the coils draped around him like heavy chains squeezed with crushing force, his muscles bulged under his scales as he pushed against the deadly force but he could feel himself slowly succumbing.

A giant green eye drew level with his as the great snake, 'Yawn', watched his last moments with intent joy. The Hunter screamed in pain and panic as he called for aid yet no answering chirps reached his ears.

The snake shrieked in animalistic triumph as she crushed the life from her prey, the Hunter had held out for almost a minute but could not escape the steel grip of his killer.

With her prey dead the snake shifted the body within her bunched coils and brought it level to her head, the huge jaws opened into a hideous parody of an 'inviting' smile as the dead Hunter slide into the snake's gullet.

The giant snake finished her meal congratulating herself for her fortune, two large meals in one day! She could survive for days on those two.

Her demon eyes looked around the forest smugly, she could taste the fear in the air, and many other creatures had witnessed her victory and had been rightly cowed.

The snake stretched out towards the sky and unleashed an unholy scream of domination; creatures for miles froze in terror as they heard the predators cry and the message it contained.

'I am the predator of all, killer of all, eater of all! No one is safe from my fangs and coils. Fear me you weak creatures for you are all my prey!'

Her dominance once again apparent the great snake Yawn began her journey back to her den.

For the creatures of the forest a great rush of relief could be felt by all as they sensed the presence of Yawn move away, they carried on with life safe for the moment but always with one thought on their minds.

She will feed again… and hopefully I won't be the next meal.

'Damn I look good'

'Vanity isn't always a good thing'

'Yeah but admit it we don't look too bad for a bioweapon'

'Well we're certainly more comely then a zombie I'll grant you'

Hazard grinned and preened himself in front of the six-foot long mirror before him, he had unconsciously come to terms with his appearance and now thought he had a right to admire his looks.

'I mean just look at those golden eyes, soft skin, light purple colour's not exactly normal but still ok and my hair's cool if a little messy'

'Do you and the mirror want some time alone?' Hazards subconscious asked amusedly.

At that moment a groan alerted Hazard to danger and he glanced behind him at the zombie that was trying, with great difficulty, to crawl towards him and possibly bite his ankles.

"I thought I broke its legs AND arms?" Hazard muttered in confusion as he placed a bolt on his crossbow and took aim.

'You did, but we thought that it would take more then that to actually stop him' Hazards subconscious said with a hint of reproach.

"Just having some fun" Hazard said while aiming his shot, he fired his weapon and the zombie loosed a last tired groan before falling still with an arrow sticking out of its head.

Hazard retrieved the bolt and ensured the zombie was dead before glancing around him confidently, he didn't think there was anymore threats here.

Hazard had gone through the door from the 'sofa' corridor and found a passageway leading to a set of stairs, which had lead to this corridor that was filled with dress mirrors and suits of armour.

'Oh and lets not forget the medieval lighting' Hazard thought sarcastically as he eyed the rows of torch braziers dotted along the walls, the effect was to make a freaky room filled with orange light and really DEEP shadows.

Hazard reloaded his crossbow and continued down the passage, he had already found a thick oak panelled door that was locked on the other side and another door that lead to a really messy trap should you not know how to get out of it.

"Beginning to question the wisdom of going into this place" Hazard muttered with feeling as he edged round another corner, crossbow at the ready.

'We have no choice, at least we are safe from the elements in this place' Hazards subconscious replied after Hazard had lunged round the corner and found it empty.

"Yeah that's true, only problem is we're unsafe from everything else in here" The tyrant shot back as he moved towards two doors in the next small area.

One was locked but the other led onto some kind of balcony. Hazard stepped fully into the room and looked down seeing that he was above the dining room and on the balcony that ringed it.

Hazard looked around not at all surprised at the dirt and cobwebs that covered the ceiling and wooden floor of the balcony, what caught his attention was a large statue on the other side of the room.

Looking left and right he saw that there was doors to both sides, the double doors to his left must lead back to the great hall but what the right door lead to was anyone's guess.

Another zombie was also skulking around the far right end of the balcony staring out dumbly through a large stained glass window that depicted some kind of… witch?

'As long as it stays over there' Hazard thought as he stalked stealthily around the balconies left side towards that statue.

Hazard probably didn't need to keep quiet as at this range the zombies rotted senses couldn't even detect him but still it paid to be careful.

Once close to the aged blue statue Hazard stopped dead in astonishment as he examined it, the statue itself was probably several decades old (judging by the state it was in) and had several cracks and cobwebs clinging to its frame.

But what it represented was what had Hazard undivided attention.

'It's a… it's a…'

'Yes Hazard we can see too, its called art and they tend to be nude'

The silent woman standing on the pedestal was naked from the waist up; she was stretching her slim arms towards the sky clutching something between her long delicate hands as if in offering.

Hazard cocked his head to one side as he studied her features, she had long hair that flowed down her back and swayed around her as if being moved by the wind, the sculptor had put a lot of effort into his work.

The woman herself had half-lidded almond shaped eyes, a large (but graceful) nose, perfectly smooth cheeks and a small smile from full lips.

Hazard gulped as he looked upon her face, two beautiful females he had seen now… although none in the flesh unfortunately.

Hazard felt his eyes beginning to inch down the woman's neck, across her collar, towards her…

He quickly shut his eyes, 'I shouldn't be doing this its perverted!' he thought wildly as his heart pounded.

Hazards subconscious laughed at its hosts endearing embarrassment, 'Hazard its art, and its not a real woman. No one will blame you if you look, we certainly wont' it said soothingly.

'Your right I'm being stupid' Hazard thought back and taking a breath opened his eyes.

'…wow!'

The sculptor had really… gone for detail. Her breasts were average sized but incredible pert, softly rounded and with small nipples standing up proudly… with breasts like that any girl had reason for pride.

'So that's what they look like?' Hazard gulped as he continued to stare at the wonderful works of art.

'Of course a real woman's are much better… we think' Hazards subconscious said uncertainly.

Hazard tore his eyes away from the statue and quickly rummaged in his pocket for the photo of Ada, he brought it up to his eyes again drawing in a sharp breath as he saw the woman's beauty again.

Of course her breasts were covered by her red dress and probably smaller then the statues but Hazard could make out the pleasant curves in her dress that announced equally firm breasts.

For a moment Hazard forgot he was in a monster infested mansion and just gazed at the woman's sultry smile and sparkling eyes… god she was beautiful.

He ran a claw gently over her cheek and imagined what it would be like to hold her in his arms… to smell her scent, hear her soft breathing and beating heart.

Touch her fine skin… listen to her voice…

To see her… unclothed beauty…

The tyrants cheeks were a blazing indigo now, thanks to the statue he had some interesting images in his head, he cursed and closed his eyes trying to banish the thoughts and quell the… feelings below his waist.

'Hey we were enjoying that!' Hazard subconscious whined.

"Now is not the time to be fantasising!" Hazard hissed as he brought his body back under control. Once silenced he opened his eyes again meeting Ada's gaze once more.

He sighed and admired her flawless picture once more before concealing the picture safely in his pocket, once done he gazed up at the statue.

"Thanks" he whispered giving her a gentle pat, (Not on anywhere indecent!) and then turned towards the balcony banister, leaning on it and trying to collect his thoughts.

Hazard stared off into space in silence, his thoughts swam with what he had just imagined and now a deep sadness had began to fill him.

The tyrant sighed and hung his head, closing his golden eyes as his thick black bangs fell over his face… it was difficult not to think of this stuff.

His subconscious gave Hazard the mental equivalent of a pat on the back, 'Don't worry we will escape and find a friend at some point… you just have to hold on Hazard' It whispered trying to soothe him.

'I know its just… what if I don't escape… what if I end up like that girl… what's-her-name Lisa… she's probably dead by now but she was most likely stuck here for years and never escaped' Hazard thought sadly as his head lowered onto his crossed arms depressively.

'No offence to her, but we are far stronger then a young girl. We can escape through our strength and resolve… because lets face it, we are not gonna die here' His subconscious spat in fury.

Hazard nodded feeling his spirits lift as he his subconscious's words gave him fresh resolve. He thumped a fist onto the banister feeling it splinter under the force and snarled at the world around him.

"I are not gonna die here" he growled.

'Damn right!' His subconscious yelled

"I am Hazard, I am strong, and I will not die here!" Hazard roared defiantly, his words echoed around him in affirmation and the tyrant flexed his claws as the rage build up in him.

His ears twitched as Hazard heard shuffling behind him and spinning round to look towards the statue he saw the zombie had left its post (probably due to all his ranting) and was only a few meters from him.

The zombie moaned and stretched out its hands towards him as drool cascaded from its mouth and broken teeth.

Hazard smiled pleasantly at the approaching zombie and stepped forward.

Lisa froze as she heard the shouted words echo around the mansion, her head cocked to one side and her many faces looked around her as she listened intently to the reverberating words.

"I am Hazard?" Lisa murmured in question, was that the creatures name?

Strange choice but still she supposed it had some relevance to it, that creature had been a hazard to her mental health ever since she first set eyes on it.

She dug into her memory replaying the words in her head trying to understand what he had said; another benefit of the virus in her body was a very good memory when it came to hunting situations.

She ignored the 'I am strong' part, what did she care for a males showing off? The 'I will not die here' got a quirk of an eyebrow from her. When they meet again she would decide that for herself.

What was important was that she pinpoints the location of the sound as quickly as possibly.

Years of hunting prey with the barest of sounds to guide her made this creatures foolish shouting easy to determine, she smirked in triumph, he was on the second floor balcony on the left side of the mansion.

She glanced at the undead hound that was thrashing furiously in her grasp, the dog had tried to attack her alone and now it was at her mercy as her tentacles held it in a steel grip of superhuman strength.

The girl's eyes looked around her quickly but amongst the crumbling headstones of the mansions small outdoors graveyard no aid was rushing to the barking dogs assistance.

Her amber eyes returned to the dog struggling in her tentacles and a small smile grew across her lips as she slowly applied more pressure on the frantic animal.

The dogs snarling became a whine as it began to feel the crushing force on its body; its senses though dulled by the viral infection of its body were now beginning to feel the strain.

Lisa grinned openly at its weak struggles and with a short chuckle she squeezed hard with her extra limbs.

The dogs whining fell silent.

Throwing the mangled body away with dismissal Lisa shook the blackened blood from her tentacles, she watched the blood slowly drip from her limbs with silent fascination before she snapped back to reality. She glanced around the graveyard again for any sign of trouble but the place was silent save for the slow shuffling of the previous owners of the coffins, at the far end of the graveyard.

She ignored them as they ignored her and turned her back on the tombstones and headed up the stairs into the mansion, she didn't really think he would have gone here but it was worth a try.

'Now I know where he is… wonder what I'll do when we meet again?'

Images of the creature surrounded by her tentacles swam in her thoughts, she was always much more bloodthirsty after a kill. And besides… he could talk and thus scream a lot louder then the other monsters here.

She smiled at the thought and hurried after the creature hoping to catch him before he left the second floor balcony… she was looking forward to what she could do to him.

'And the maze continues to twist and turn' Hazard thought moodily as he found himself at yet another staircase, this one leading back down to the first floor.

"Its like I'm stuck in something's intestines with miles of turns and overlapping passageways" He grumbled as he leaned against the stair banister looking down the unexciting steps.

'Well then we must continue looking and map this whole beast then' Hazards subconscious said brightly ignoring its hosts scowl.

The tyrant sighed as he contemplated his position; he had come from the balcony room into this and found yet more locked doors and this stairway leading, probably, back to where he started.

"Wish there was a zombie to add some entertainment to this journey" Hazard muttered as he began to descend.

The body had lain still for many days now, the virus within it slowly mutating its host into something far more deadly.

The milky white eyes of the host staring at nothing in particular, at the moment there was no threats or food in the vicinity so the crimson had felt no urge to move from its position.

But now its repaired senses, far more advanced then its less evolved brethren, had heard the quiet muttering of something on the floor above it.

Crusted eyelids moved as the body blinked and turned its head towards the sound. Tight muscles moved with reluctance as the crimson stretched its jaws exposing brown broken teeth.

Reddened and powerful muscles rippled as the zombie levered itself up into a half crouch; its head cocked as it studied the sound intently. Its mainly instinctive brain trying to determine whether it was prey, predator, or another of its kind that was just mumbling half remembered words from a dead life.

The crimsons stance switched into a more alert and dangerous poise as it discovered that the words weren't just random sentences but sentient speech! Its eyes narrowed into glowing slits as it flexed its claws and its breathing increased as a new and wonderful feeling of impending frenzy flooded its muscles.

The crimson couldn't remember feeling so good, before it had been attacked by a Hunter it had been aware of the bliss of a feeding frenzy but that was just a twinge of hunger compared to the bloodlust that began to fill it.

It WANTED to meet its prey with claw and teeth.

It WANTED not just to eat its prey but to actually tear it apart in animalistic fury.

It WANTED to show its prey that it was the superior being!

When it saw purple feet begin to slowly descend the steps in front of it the crimson acted in an instance.

Surging across the small gap under the stairs with newly developed speed the crimson smashed its fists through the wooden steps towards its prey; its strength surprised itself as it grasped the prey's ankles in a grip of steel.

The prey yelled in surprise as the crimson heaved overbalancing the prey and pushing it down the stairs, the prey fell in a crumbled heap at the bottom dazed by the impact.

The crimson finally released the pent-up roar of rage and hunger that had been growing since it heard the prey; the sound filled the room and further heightened the crimsons bloodlust as it charged at the fallen prey.

Feeling the new power in its body it knew it couldn't lose.

"The hell!" Hazard yelled as something smashed through the steps behind his feet and gripped his ankles. He felt a surge of pain as sharp claws cut into his ankles before a powerful force pulled with undeniable strength.

He cried out in terror as the stairs suddenly rushed up to meet him and almost blacked out as his head smashed into a hard wooden step with a resounding crack.

He didn't even have time to fight the dizziness he felt before gravity kicked in and threw him down the stairs, he went tumbling down his body being battered by the hard wood of the steps before he slammed into the wall at the foot of the stairway.

Laying against the hard cold wall Hazard couldn't even move as his body screamed in pain, he groaned as he felt his bones and rips ache with every breath he took.

He tried to get back up but nausea crept up on him and he could only flop his limps about weakly and shake his head. He began to panic as he felt his body ignoring his commands due to the pain and, even worse, he could feel something warm and wet beginning to flow down his face.

Then he heard an ear-splitting roar cut through the haze of pain and Hazard felt his blood freeze and his heart pound faster.

"GET UP HAZARD! YOU MUST GET UP!" His subconscious screamed at him.

Through dazed vision Hazards eyes saw something step out from the shadows under the stairs, the golden orbs widening in terror as he recognised the enemy that had attacked him as being a crimson zombie.

The zombie was leering at him with a demonic grin and its pale white eyes were fixed on him hungrily, Hazard began to struggle with new desperation to move his body as it stalked towards him.

Once within a few meters of him the zombie crimson leapt, claws outstretched towards Hazards collapsed body, teeth aiming for his throat.

Time seemed to slow as hazard stared in paralysed horror at the crimson that practically flew through the air. Everything was terribly detailed from the powerful red muscles that grew from its withered frame, the joy that shone in its almost glowing white eyes, to the green corpse gas that bellowed from its open mouth forced out by its excited breathing.

It was as if with death so close to him Hazards mind wanted to record everything no matter how revolting.

The crimson was so close and Hazard still couldn't force his body to move as the rotted face filled his horizon as it inched closer to him. Hazard knew he had but a second before those brown decayed teeth clamped onto his neck and tore out his flesh in a brilliant red shower.

But from deep within he felt a strange, and welcome, surge of electrifying power. Something powerful, primal, and deadly had awoken in the recesses of Hazards mind and it was not at all happy with the current situation.

With a scream of hate and rage this new persona acted as the crimson charged Hazard, ignoring the pain it used the wall behind it as a crutch as it swung Hazards body upwards smashing both feet into the crimsons face and propelling it away.

The crimson staggered back and again the persona acted, not even fully on his feet Hazards body shot across the gap between it and its enemy, his tail giving him extra push off the wall as he speared the crimson across its midsection.

They both fell to the ground in a frenzy of clawing and biting, the crimson slashed Hazard across the back, he responded by tearing open its cheek, the crimson retaliated by biting deeply into his arm, Hazard countered by ripping out its ear with his fangs.

The crimson pulled back with a squeal of pain then screamed an incoherent cry of challenge at Hazard. He replied with his own roar and leapt back into the fray ignoring the crimsons claws as they tore at him and instead focusing on ripping the vile things heart out of its chest.

The crimson panicked now as it felt itself being overpowered by this insane combatant, it was tearing chunks from this creature but it didn't even care! It was as if it didn't feel pain, as every time it was slashed or bitten it would just bite back twice as hard!

The crimson decided it had had enough, bunching up its legs it kicked the crazy prey away then ran for its undead life.

Pounding down a small passageway, round a corner and to the end of the corridor it reached the door at the end feeling a very unaccustomed sense of panic.

And as it scrabbled at the door finding to its horror that the door was locked that feeling of panic grew.

"Kill"

The crimson spun round to see that its prey turned predator had rounded the corner and was standing about four meters away from the crimson. The creatures gaze was fixed on the crimsons as it snarled at the zombie and bared its blood stained fangs.

"Kill" It hissed as it flexed its dripping claws and stepped forward, every step measured and silent as it stalked its prey.

The crimson screeched and raised its claws fearfully as the creature stepped closer, every step echoing in the crimsons ears as the creatures eyes burned red.

"KILL"

Hazards first thought was 'where am I?' as he opened his eyes from his slumped position against the mansion walls.

His second thought was 'What the hell happened?' when he looked down and saw the mangled and torn body of a crimson zombie at his feet.

His third and final thought on this matter was 'Oh' when he raised his claws and saw the blood and globs of flesh that stained them.

'Don't think Hazard just walk away' His subconscious whispered quietly.

His mind numbed by the scene before him and the blank spot in his memory Hazard was grateful for direction and with some effort he turned away from the mass of blood and gore behind him and started walking.

He managed a few steps then his legs gave out, he fell to one knee as his body began to scream in pain though all Hazard could do was give a weak moan as his whole body shivered in agony.

'We know it hurts Hazard but you must move, we cannot rest here' His subconscious ordered gently.

With a weak nod Hazard forced himself to his feet, he began to sway immediately and quickly reached for the left-hand wall to steady himself.

Hesitantly he took a step forward, then another. All the while his flesh ached and his limbs wobbled but he gritted his teeth and carried on.

Strangely Hazard felt like he was in a shower, he could feel streams of wetness flowing down his body from various places and more then once he almost slipped on the strangely slick floor.

'Don't think just walk!' His subconscious yelled as his attention began to drift.

Shaking his head weakly he reached the turning and saw in the distance the stairway, he frowned as he began to remember that was were he…

'I SAID DON'T THINK! WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO THINK JUST KEEP WALKING THEN TURN LEFT!" Hazards subconscious screamed desperately.

Hazard jumped in fright as the voice echoed in his head, forcing himself to ignore the stairs he keep walking until he reached the small square area that including the place under the stairs.

"Under the stairs… something under the stairs" Hazard mumbled as he looked at the shadowy place.

"LOOK LEFT, SEE THE DOOR?"

Hazard blinked then looked to his left, a door was hidden back there and Hazard took a step forward then again felt his body weaken as he slid to the floor.

"HAZARD GET UP!" His subconscious yelled in terror.

"So tired, Hazard mumbled as his eyes began to slowly slip shut, just wanna sleep"

"IF YOU SLEEP HERE WE ARE GONNA DIE! NOW GET UP!" the voice in his skull roared at him, Hazard grumbled in protest and slowly felt the darkness begin to cloud his vision.

"HAZARD!"

Hazard didn't care anymore, if he slept he wouldn't have to feel anymore pain, see anymore nightmares, just be in someone's, like Ada's, arms forever.

He was just about to sleep forever when something slapped him across the face.

Hazard squeaked in surprise as his eyes snapped open, even above all the other wounds on his body he could still feel the stinging on his cheek. Looking around for the attacker he saw nothing but his own hand hovering in front of him, he frowned and tried to lower it but it refused his commands.

'Are you gonna get up or are we gonna have to slap you again?' His subconscious growled threateningly.

Looking in shocked surprise at his own hand Hazard mumbled a "no" and forced himself back to his feet. He may already be hurting but he really didn't want anymore pain, even if only a slap.

A few more hesitant steps and Hazard reached the door, his right claw closed around the doorknob, sliding off a few times due to the blood, and with a grunt of effort he opened the door and stumbled inside.

'Please let there be a lock' Hazard heard his subconscious pray within his head, he shut the door looking over it with heavy eyes and seeing a small bolt lock just above the knob.

'Lock it!'

Hazard complied and felt some relief as the bolt slide into place; perhaps he'd be safe now?

Examining the room he was in Hazard saw that it looked to be another chest and typewriter room, his gaze slide sleepily over some shelves with coloured bottles on them but he paid them no heed.

Instead he looked in awe at the small bed that resting against the far wall, cotton white sheets beckoned to Hazard and he quickly stumbled forward.

Reaching the bed he fell onto the mattress feeling his body continue to ache but at least he could be comfortably hurting now.

Blackened and sore eyes looked blankly at the white sheets he lay on noticing numbly that they were slowly turning red.

"Are we gonna be ok?" Hazard croaked painfully.

'We hope so' His subconscious answered solemnly.

Hazard gasped as he felt more of his lifeblood flow out of him and he closed his eyes tight not wanting to look at his injuries.

Hazard felt wetness grow behind his closed eyelids but at the moment he didn't care about crying.

"I don't wanna die" he whispered tearfully, he swallowed the lump he was feeling as he felt his consciousness slipping away.

'Rest Hazard… we will both be ok'

'Really?'

'Really'

'But what if I don't wake up?'

'… Then we shall both sleep forever in someone's arms'

Hazard gave a weak laugh that quickly stopped due to the pain.

'Just in case we don't… it's been a pleasure knowing you Hazard' His subconscious said gently.

Hazard smiled as his eyes shut and he felt himself lose his battle with sleep, as he drifted away he thought back, 'you've been a good voice in my head'.

'As have you Hazard'

And then the tyrant slipped into unconsciousness, his life in the hands of the virus within him ability to heal.

He slept on, hopefully to awake in a few hours time restored… or never to awake again.

Chapter 9.

An increasingly strange case.

"Come on Hank you sure you got nothing for me?"

"I'm telling ya Chris I haven't heard nothing, the underground's as worked up about those attacks as the damn pigs are… present company excluded of course"

"But surely there are rumours? A new group causing trouble, maybe wanting to get a reputation quickly?"

"There's always them Chris you know that, but none of them would go this far! Hell even the bosses think this is gross even old 'Eddy Gizzard'!"

"Wouldn't put this past him Hank, I know he isn't called Gizzard cause he likes the word"

"Trust me Chris he didn't too it and neither did the others. Alright maybe they'd do some messed up stuff to rivals and coppers but not to some kids and their families, not without a reason"

"You better be right 'Weasel'"

"When I have I ever let you down Chris? For a snitch I'm pretty dependable right?"

Chris Redfield eyed his questionable friend from the bear soaked table they were both siting at. Over the barely drunken foaming beer between his hands 'Weasel' was staring at Chris in a very credible expression of injured pride.

Chris wondered over his strange 'relationship' with Weasel, or 'Hank the Weasel', as he was known to his clients. The man was small, only in the mid-ranges of five feet and very skinny. His features definitely had a dash of rodent there, small intelligent eyes that darted about shiftily, thin lips, slightly pointed ears and lanky jet-black hair. His appearance was made to go unnoticed, second hand clothing mainly hues of grey and green, Hank was dressed to look like something you'd rather not beat up due to any possible contamination.

Oh yes Weasel currently looked like just another pathetic lowlife but there was where you'd be critically wrong. He was renowned on his ability to ferret out ('pardon the term Weasel') useful information.

His services were employed readily by the criminal underground; anyone with enough money and the right temperament was fine by Weasel.

He maintained a strict 'neutrality' by employing his services to anyone who asked, mob bosses who had told him to spy on a rival had to be careful that the Weasel wasn't watching their own movements for the man he was sent to follow in the first place.

In normal cases this 'double-dealing' would have a man quickly face down in the first gutter his killers found but Weasel had avoided this by being so damn good at his profession.

The Weasel always delivered, admittedly he also delivered to your enemies but if he found some dirt on you it was your own fault for being careless.

Because of this many of the more influential bosses hired Weasels services and Hank always delivered the goods or 'You can cut my own throat', thankfully for Weasel no one had yet had a reason to try that generous offer.

Chris had met him a year ago when he had been planning a raid on drugs nests downtown. While on stakeout of one of them he had seen Hank dragged in bound, gagged, and decided that it probably wasn't a friendly idea of a joke and had hurried in after him.

After the firefight, and subsequent running through the streets on account of there being twenty thugs chasing them, he had discovered, as Hank panted out his story while running, that the whole thing had been due to 'some people not able to take things lightly'.

Apparently Hank had been told by the guy in charge of the drug warehouses to find out what produce his rival dealer was developing in his own warehouse a few blocks away. Hank had found out, and then offered to tell the rival what his employer was making for a small fee, and then taken the liberty, unnoticed, to sabotage the drug labs while inside and put back the sale of that drug by several weeks.

As far as Hank was concerned he'd done his original employer a favour. He'd made some extra cash and so what if the Mexican drug-lord wannabe knew what drugs Hanks employer was selling, his own production wouldn't be ready for weeks and by then Hanks employer would have flooded the market.

But unfortunately his employer didn't see it that way, he had congratulated Hanks 'excellent' work and paid him generously, Hank had been suspicious but when nothing happened for a few days he dismissed it.

Then a week after the job several very strong, and armed, men had smashed through his motel door and knocked him senseless. He had been blindfolded, bundled into a bag and drove around for a bit then when he had the blindfold removed found himself in the warehouse again. He was tied to a chair with a man wearing a surgeon's apron in front of him holding a very sharp-looking scalpel in his gloved hands.

Things would have gone very bad, and incredible painful, for the Weasel if Chris hadn't kicked down the door and started firing.

After that Chris had dragged the truth out of Weasel, some handy video recordings of Hank in the warehouse's security footage had helped with that.

However Chris had seen the use of a man like Weasel and had 'employed' the spy-ish character on a "Whenever I damn well call Mr Weasel" basis.

The deal was this, Hank helped Chris out with whatever he needed, and the infamous career of the Weasel wouldn't end behind bars.

Thus far it was actually working out.

"So basically no one knows what's going on, even you?" Chris asked irritably, usually he found out at least 'something' from Hank.

"Come on Hank… surely you've heard something?"

"I'm sorry Chris but I haven't" Hank answered quickly, Chris frowned as he looked into Hanks darting eyes, the Weasel was scared.

Hank squirmed uneasily in his chair Chris noticed, he also saw that the mans long fingers were trembling slightly.

"You do know something…" Chris whispered staring into Weasels nervous eyes, the informant started as if slapped and met Chris's steely gaze.

"I can't say nothing Chris this is more then mere mobs man!" The little man pleaded, his hands were almost clasped in a poise of begging.

"Tell me Hank" Chris said curtly, the man continued to shiver slightly, his nerves shaken, hesitant to answer.

"Come on Hank… these people were EATEN. Something has to be done and if you know something that can help then you KNOW you should tell me" Chris said carefully. Despite his profession Hank was generally a good guy, he knew where the line was.

"I don't know how much this will help," Hank said to himself, glancing around him for eavesdroppers the Weasel leaned closer. "There's been a lot of action down by the suburbs lately, been building up for the last few weeks, after the attacks its been getting much more hectic" He whispered confidently.

"What kind of action?"

Weasels eyes narrowed, "The secret kind, first whiff of trouble they're gone in a flash but they don't go for long… they're very interested in the forest and Arkly mountains"

"Why?"

Hank shrugged, "No idea, they're tight like a crabs ass. Ain't no way of infiltrating them but I'll tell you this mate, at this Hanks voice became deadly serious, they ain't crooks, nor are they coppers, with their high-tech gear I'd say government"

Chris frowned as he considered this interesting information, the government? Or at least an obscure branch was interested in this case? Why? And also if it's the case then why have they been there before the murders?

"Your sure Hank?" Chris asked as he sat back in his chair in thought, again the Weasel looked affronted, "I had to bust my balls for even that Chris! They don't like people skulking around there" He said with a small shiver.

Chris nodded and took a gulp of his beer, the bitter taste helping him concentrate as the alcohol flowed into his system. Obviously there was more to this case then first appearances hinted, if some serious players were taking an interest then Chris knew that STARS were missing something.

'This case is more important then any of us' Chris frowned as Weskers words played across his mind, the guy must know something about those people, it was the only explanation for Weskers strange mood.

"Where are they Hank?" Chris shot at his informant, the man took a deep pull of his own beer then screwed up his face in concentration.

"Down by the suburbs near the old caravan trail up the Arkley Mountains, you know that one that closed awhile ago due to those accidents up in the mountains. Raccoon River runs right next to it mate"

Chris nodded and gave this some thought too, he'd been reading the files on the case and the small community that was attacked was just a few kilometres from that place.

'If the gang are operating in the mountains then I'm willing to bet a tenner that's where they come down from' Chris thought as he finished his beer.

"Ok Hank you've given me more then I hoped mate and I think that deserves an extra" Chris said grudgingly to his informant, the mans suspicious look vanished when Chris put a hundred on the table between them.

"Cheers mate!" Weasel exclaimed happily as he dived for the note, as he grabbed it Chris's hand locked on his holding him in place.

Chris smiled pleasantly, "However if you want to truly earn this your gonna have to come with me tonight to this camping trip the men in black are holding"

Weasel shook his head fiercely while what colour he had drained from his face, "No mate no! I'm all for spying from a distance but I ain't double o seven man, those guys mean business!"

Chris scowled at the trapped man, "Did I say you had a choice in the matter?" He asked warningly.

"I never said I'd die for you Chris!"

"You'll get another hundred" Chris spat. He knew he had Weasels attention by the sudden thoughtful, but still scared, look in his eyes.

"Two"

Chris just glared into Weasels small eyes; 'Don't push it' was the silent message.

Weasel gnawed his lip in indecision, truthfully Chris knew he couldn't force this if Hank really wanted out, he wasn't gonna risk a mans life without the guys permission… but he needed Hanks help.

Weasel sighed and gave a sullen shrug of his shoulders, "Don't know why the fuck I listen to you, fine Chris tonight I'll show you and… go in with ya"

But after this he stabbed a finger at Chris with his other hand warningly, "But if we get in serious shit Chris my ass is out of there! Ok?"

Chris smiled and let go off his friend, the hundred-dollar note vanished into Hanks pockets in a second, "Thanks mate" Chris said earnestly.

Hank scowled at Chris but didn't say anything.

Chris glanced at his watch. Shit he was late!

"Hank, I'll meet you at my place tonight at eleven ok? I don't need to tell you where I live do I?" Chris asked with a light smile.

Hank snorted in amusement, "Not at all Chris… I'll see you then"

The little man finished his beer with a quick gulp, coughed, then struggled into his worn, ragged coat. He waved a short goodbye to Chris who nodded back and then the Weasel vanished into the bars smoky atmosphere.

"Wish I knew how he does that" Chris muttered as he stared into the cigarette generated fog of the bar, Hank had a way of disappearing even in plain sight.

Chris sighed and quickly pulled his own coat round him, nodding at the barmen who nodded back a farewell (Chris came in here often) Chris left and walked out into the city streets.

Chris breathed deep of the crisp cold air outside as around him the life of the city continued and Chris took a few moments to gaze at the bustling metropolis.

Raccoon City, though very large, had never gained as much fame as New York or Washington; it was a minor city due to its seclusion in the shadows of the Arkley Mountains but Chris was happy to call this place home.

Heavy traffic filled the streets around him; the sound of swearing and horns brought a grin to Chris's face. Aged buildings with bare brickwork stretched for miles in ordered rows, trash and garbage covered the lanes and graffiti was scrawled across any bare surface.

In the darkness of night the city shone like a beacon as neon lighting blazed out their messages wherever Chris looked, he glanced to his right at the crimson glow that bathed the streets a few yards away and wondered how business was going for the ladies.

'Hell with the cold of winter a lot of guys probably feel they need warming up' Chris thought with mirth.

He swore when his watch's alarm cried out again and Chris quickly ran for his car, Barry is gonna go spare when he finally got to the meeting place.

Then he remembered that Jill would be waiting too so Chris thought 'to hell with it', plunked his revolving light on the roof of the car, and started up his siren.

His dad had told him never to make a pretty girl wait and as Jill was a fucking goddess, as in a hot body and smart too, he should have got there a day early!

Barry looked up from his beer as he heard sirens approaching, police issue not fire or paramedics.

Glancing out of the frosted windows of the 'Pissed Eagle' pub he saw a squad car come to a screeching halt outside the entrance, it barely stopped in time and almost collided with the car in front.

Barry smirked as the owner of the almost hit car dived out of his chair and dashed outside swearing furiously at the officer just climbing out of his car, the cop glancing at the Porsche that he almost hit and waving off the mans accusations.

When the man continued to yell despite the fact the squad car hadn't hit the Porsche the officer began to yell back obviously stating he had not damaged the mans car.

When it seemed like the man wouldn't shut up despite the cop showing him his badge the officer gave a weary sigh and lashed out with his fist.

Barry winced as the man was smashed back against the window and began to slide down limply, before he hit the ground the cop caught him and helped direct him inside the pub the man weakly holding his bleeding nose.

He helped the man onto a stool next to the bar, asked the bartender to see to the guys nose (paying him for the trouble) then pressed a note into the gob-smacked Porsche owners hand and offering him a free drink.

Barry coughed to disguise his laugh as the cop gave the man a pat on the shoulder and began to walk over to Barry.

Barry quickly adopted a look of stern disapproval as Chris grinned at him meekly.

"Bout bloody time you turned up!" He growled.

Chris held his hands to ward off his friend as Barry glowered at him; "I'm sorry Barry I got held up, police business you know?" he pleaded.

Barry just grunted though Chris could see a hint of amusement in Barry's grizzled features, not for the first time Chris wondered how long Barry went between shaves.

"So can a guy get a drink here? Cause I got a lot to tell you Barry" Chris said as he took a seat at Barry's table, the older man gave Chris a questioning look as he counted out some change.

"Been to see Hank, he told me a lot of interesting stuff"

Barry snorted, "Don't know why you trust that guy Chris" Barry said with disapproval.

Chris shrugged his shoulders, "He's ok once you get over the creepiness, besides we have a good working relationship" Chris said with dismissal.

He glanced around curiously then looked up at Barry questioningly, "Hey wasn't Jill supposed to be here?" He asked feeling a little concerned.

"She's right behind you smarty-pants" A soothing voice said with a trace of amusement behind him.

Chris quickly turned in his seat and felt his mental processes stop, which was quite normal whenever he saw Jill out of uniform.

The beautiful brunette was standing behind him looking down at him impishly; Chris swallowed hard as he gazed at her choice of clothing.

She was wearing a tight low cut blue top that exposed her pale shoulders and neck. Chris gulped as he saw the curves of her breasts pressing against the fabric enticingly.

His eyes slid lower examining the short, white skirt she was wearing appreciatively, it was bordered by a brown stripe and looked ok but what Chris really liked was the sight of her long pale legs that demanded attention.

Her feet were encased in long brown 'cowgirl' boots but without spurs… all in all she was fucking gorgeous to look at.

"Seen everything?" Jill asked, her eyes sparkled with mirth as she saw Chris's flustered look.

"Bloody hell Jill you look great!" Chris exclaimed trying to get his hormones under control, 'In a public place, in a public place, in a public place!'

Jill tilted her head smiling at Chris pleasantly, "Why thank you" she said sweetly.

Barry smirked at his friend's gob-smacked look. He had to admit that Jill looked breathtaking, and judging by Chris's hungry stare he agreed.

Barry also could tell that Jill was enjoying the attention too, well good for them they've had a crush on each other for ages now.

"I'll grab us some drinks" he said loudly and quickly hurried to the bar, his movements snapping Chris and Jill out of their staring contest.

"How long where you behind me?" Chris asked suspiciously as Jill took a seat next to him, she folded her legs comfortably and Chris had to fight to stop his drooling.

"Oh not long, so what took you so long to get here?" Jill asked with some reproach.

Chris squirmed in his seat with guilt, "I'm sorry Jill I was talking to Hank and I lost track of time".

Jill waved it away, "Don't worry about it, so what did Hank have to say?"

Chris sighed and rubbed the back of his head distractedly, "Lots of weird stuff, it seems that its not just the usual subjects who are interested in this case"

"How do you mean?"

"Lets wait till Barry gets back I'll tell you both then"

The two STARS passed the next few minutes chatting amiably, Chris tried not to let anything show on his features but inside his mind was in turmoil.

'Some shady players are interested in the killings'

'God she looks beautiful'

'Yeah but there's obviously something Wesker knows… perhaps I should talk to him?'

'Gotta resist touching her legs, damn they're so smooth and sexy'

"God dammit shut up in there" Chris muttered quietly as he clutched his head, At Jill's questioning look he mumbled "headache" and looked towards the bar for Barry.

He almost sighed in relief when he spotted the big man forcing his way through the crowd around the bar towards them; he clutched a beer in each hand and a third clamped between his teeth.

"That's yours now Barry" Jill laughed as she pointed towards the glass hanging from Barry's mouth. The older man released an amused grunt as he handed them their beers and took a seat, spitting out his own glass with a "Pleah!"

"Glad to be an amusement to you guys" Barry growled, but without menace, as Jill and Chris chuckled at their friend.

"Sorry mate we just haven't seen your juggling act for ages" Chris said, digging at him lightly.

Barry smiled back, "So what's the news everyone?" He asked after taking a sip of his drink.

Jill glanced at Chris, who nodded back and went first, it took a few minutes to relate the information Hank had given him, and he wasn't surprised at the looks of outrage from his friends.

"God damn bastards! I'll bet anything whoever's out there knew about this group long before the attacks happened!" Barry practically roared in anger, getting a few stares from the drinkers around them.

Chris quickly shushed his friend, "Barry calm down! Listen I don't doubt they probably know something but we have to make sure before we start pointing fingers! Me and Hank are gonna go down there tonight and check it out anyway" Chris said reassuringly.

Jill had remained silent with a thoughtful expression during Chris's briefing but now she appeared to come to some kind of conclusion, "Actually Chris I do think this is serious, what you've just said has given me some ideas about what I learned at the coroners"

The two men looked at her questioningly and Jill leaned closer, "I went to see my informant Aran Taylor, he's one of the city morticians who is… happy to give out knowledge to those who ask with cheques". Jill shrugged at Barry and Chris's suspicious looks; "He's trustworthy as long as you pay well. Anyway I asked him if I could see one of the victims as, as you know, the bodies have been deemed hazardous so no one except special teams are to survey them and we, the people who ARE investigating the case, can only read what they filed in their reports." Chris scowled at this and Barry swore about "Bloody politics" but Jill continued after the outburst. "Anyway I was hoping that in Aran's case money would show me the path but he couldn't help and was very regretful considering I had a lot on me. Apparently the bodies have been removed from the civilian departments control and moved to some 'top level' facility that no one seems to know about". At this she looked at Chris grimly, "As you can see this info about secret groups near the forest made me wonder about this"

Chris nodded in thought while Barry eyed Jill shrewdly, "Is that all you managed to get?" He asked disappointed.

Jill looked at him haughtily, "I'm disgusted you had to ask that" she said primly then smiled, reached into her handbag and pulled out a yellow folder, and dropping it between them.

"This should interest you" was all she said.

Barry quickly tore it open and pulled out a few printed pictures that he laid on the table, the three STARS looked at them in silence for a few seconds before Chris looked up at Jill with a look of disgust and said, "What the HELL is it?" He asked horrified.

Jill sighed and glanced down at the picture Chris pointed out, she shrugged mutely and said, "Apparently THAT is the one of the killers"

The three STARS eyes returned to the picture and stared in revulsion at the image. It showed a body laid out on a metal slap in a morgue, but while the STARS had seen some pretty grisly dead bodies this surely won the prize.

It was a man but he looked as if he had been decomposing for the better part of a year, the flesh was peeling from his skin exposing muscles and sinew that, for some strange reason, were all a bright red as if they had been dyed.

What was worse was his face, his lips drawn back into a snarl revealing rotten brown teeth and diseased gums. The skin and muscles wasted and thin so that the face looked like a grinning skull.

What was worse in the STARS eyes was the mans own, his eyes were wide and staring, completely white even the pupils and despite being dead they could almost see a sense of hunger in the dead orbs.

"This is the killer? It looks like it's been dead for years!" Barry yelled in disbelief.

"Look at his hands" Jill replied calmly, the men complied and stared in confusion at the long claws that grew out of the dead mans nails.

"What the-?" Chris began.

"The victims tissue and blood were found on them, that's how we know it was the killer… also when its… stomach, was cut open flesh was found inside that matched DNA with the victims" Jill interrupted, swallowing in revulsion afterwards.

"I thought you said the bodies were taken away before they could be properly examined?" Barry asked with confusion.

Jill nodded, "Yes but Aran and his colleges had time to do some tests and observation before the bodies were removed, they were also told to hand over any notes or files they made on the bodies but luckily for us Aran decided to make a copy of his"

She pointed towards the photos of the victims and the killer, "Notice anything they all share? Other then being a mess," Jill said with a weak attempt at humour.

Chris spotted it first, "They all have a gunshot wound in the head?"

Jill smiled, "And as a professional marksmen what else can you see Chris?"

Chris frowned and examined the pictures carefully, doing his best to ignore the silent screams and looks of terror on the victims, and quickly saw the hidden clue.

"It was all done surgically, he said slowly, a precise shot through the centre of the brain that would instantly kill"

Barry frowned, "Were the victims shot before being eaten, god I really hope so, and then the killer shot… himself?"

Jill shook her head, "This is were it gets confusing, according to Aran the victims were already dead when they were shot… as for the killer Aran believes, though its difficult to tell considering the state he's in, the gunshot was what killed him actually"

"But he looks almost a year dead Jill! Bodies don't rot to that state in just a few days" Barry said shaking his head unable to believe what he was hearing.

"Believe it or not Barry but Aran tells me that, however impossible, rigor mortis only set in after he was on the slab, and despite the look of the guy his muscles were in very good condition. This… THING! Could have thrown you across this room Barry" Jill said firmly.

Jill sighed and clutched her hands together nervously, "There's more"

Chris gave a weak laugh, "Hit me when I'm down Jill, ok what is it?"

"There was something else on the victims that wasn't in the original report, some kind of mutagen that was found in the victims flesh mainly around where they were bitten… and a hell of a lot of the stuff in the killers own body"

Chris stared into the distance consulting memory, "Rebecca mentioned something like this" he said slowly.

Jill nodded, "That's what made me ask Aran about it, he said he had no idea of what it was but after it was discovered was when the examination was clamped down and the bodies taken. Unfortunately a sample of the virus, that's what it most resembled, was something Aran couldn't keep"

Barry gulped down a generous measure of beer and sat back glaring into the distance, "So we have a killer who looks dead but wasn't until yesterday, top secret guys in the hills, an unknown virus in the victims and killer… and a definite conspiracy around the whole case"

He took another gulp of his beer and thumped the table angrily, "Why'd it have to happen in THAT part of the suburbs" he muttered to himself.

Jill and Chris exchanged looks, "Barry what's bugging you man, you've been on edge since this morning" Chris asked carefully.

Barry gave him a dirty look, "Come on Chris its not that hard to fucking work it out" He hissed.

Chris almost felt himself rise as his temper flared but he quickly clamped down on it, something was wrong.

Barry sighed and covered his eyes with a big hand, "I'm sorry Chris I'm just really worked up" He lowered his hand and Chris and Jill were shocked to see wetness in his eyes.

"Barry-" Jill began in concern

"I live just a block from the attacks guys!" Barry practically wailed, "My little girls school was just a few yards from those poor bastards homes!" his voice now rising to a roar.

Chris and Jill were shocked into silence, why hadn't they realised?

"Barry its gonna be all right" Chris said trying to calm his friend.

Barry spun round and fixed Chris a piercing glare, "DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP CHRIS! ALL I WANNA DO IS FIND THE BASTARDS WHO DID THIS! I WILL NOT-" He stopped noticing the crowd staring at him and opened and shut his mouth wordlessly before collapsing in his chair.

"Cannibals near my girls… fucking hell" he whispered.

Jill reached across and laid a hand on Barry's tugging on it gently to make him look at her, "Barry we will find the people responsible for this and bring them to justice, together we can do it" She said quietly.

Chris leaned across placing a consoling hand on Barry's shoulder, "Listen mate if your really worried I can ask around for you and see if one of the other STARS or a friend has space for them to lodge until the coast is clear"

Chris paused for thought, "I'd offer my own too if nothings available but I don't think your wife will go for you all sleeping on a single bed" He said with a light grin.

Barry looked at his two friends and shook his head with a smile growing across his lips, "Thanks a lot guys" he whispered.

He then glared at Chris, "I've already found them a hotel but I know what you were really thinking, no way is my wife gonna share your bed Chris even if your not in it!"

Chris recoiled, babbling denials; no way was he thinking that! But then Barry grinned and gave him a light thump on the arm.

"Just messing around pal"

Jill shook her head in amusement as the boys argued then quickly slapped then both round the ears to get their attention.

"OW!"

"Jill what?"

"I have to go," she said quickly.

"What's up?" Chris asked.

"I promised Rebecca I'd meet her tonight for a girls night out, we both have some more important stuff to talk about too" said Jill as she stood up and tucked away her chair.

"What important stuff?" Barry asked curiously, Jill merely smiled and tapped her nose secretly.

Chris raised his glass in salute to her as Jill made a move, "Have a good time Jill and I'll have some painkillers for you in the morning, just in case of course" he quipped with a grin at her indignant look.

She smiled back at him sweetly, "I'll be sure to drink to you Chris, she leaned over and patted him on the head, enjoy your secret, dangerous snooping around tonight while I drink and party"

"All you have to do is ask and you can tag along, watch how the men do things" Chris teased while beside him Barry choked on his beer while laughing.

Jill stared down at him imperiously, "Maybe next time Chris, besides I can watch men make fools of themselves every day of the week"

She said goodbye to Barry and Chris, and made to walk away. She stopped a few steps away from the table and quickly doubled back ignoring Chris and Barry's confused looks.

Before he could react Jill leaned down and gave Chris a quick peck on the cheek, despite himself he couldn't stop his blush or his shocked, but pleased look.

"Be careful out there ok?" Jill said with just a hint of pleading, her twin sapphire eyes gazing into his own with worry.

Chris gulped as he stared into her concerned face, "Y-yeah I'll be fine" he stuttered. Then he remembered he WAS a man, "I can handle whatever they got Jill" he said with a cocky smirk.

Jill eyed him wearily and Chris could tell she was thinking 'yeah right' but she didn't press comment, she smiled at him breathed a soft "Take care" and turned on her heel and walked away.

Chris couldn't speak and to be honest wouldn't want to spoil the moment with words, he just stared in mute amazement as Jill left the pub gazing in awe at her magnificent body.

When she turned and glanced at him one last time Chris could see the still remaining look of worry on her angelic face, 'god she really does care for me' Chris thought in astonishment.

"Don't worry" he whispered hoping she caught the words by his lip movements. She must have cause she nodded at him, shot a fleeting smile then stepped out into the city disappearing into the streets.

Barry finished his drink, "God reminds me of when me and Jess where first going out" He said with a smile of fond remembrance.

"What?" Chris asked still staring towards the exit.

Barry laughed and slammed his hand on Chris's shoulder, "You'll figure it out man, come on I gotta get home I promised the girls and you'll need some rest before tonight"

Chris nodded silently and quickly finished his beer and stood up, the two men glanced at the photos still littering the desk then exchanged looks.

"You take them, Barry said curtly, I don't wanna risk my girls seeing them"

Chris nodded and quickly placed the photos back in their folder and tucked it under his arm; the two men exited the pub stopping outside for their farewells.

"Listen… if you want some help I suppose I can come with you tonight-" Barry began to say.

Chris waved him off, "I'm ok Barry, your family needs you more then me, he smiled at his friend, besides I do have Hank with me"

Barry scowled at the mention of the name but didn't comment instead he jabbed a finger into Chris's chest, "Just make sure you're in the station tomorrow, cause if your not me and half the force are gonna storm that place regardless of what government branch is there" Barry growled. Judging by the fiery look in his eyes Chris guessed that Barry needed little reason lately to start a fight.

"I'll be alright Barry" Chris said confidently, he pointed towards the street, "Now bugger off and see Jess and the girls, you're starting to bug me" He said with a smirk.

Barry shook his head in amusement then walked off into the dark crowded city streets, Chris saw him wave when he was a few yards away and responded quickly before Barry disappeared in the crowd.

A few seconds later Chris was alone except for the groups of people going about their business, Chris shivered in the cold air and quickly made for his car.

He had a few hours till he and Hank checked out that group in the suburbs.

And hopefully he'd be able to find some more clues to the intricate puzzle this case had become.

_Ok this is not the end of act two just part 1. This is because the whole of act 2 is just too long it seems to be uploaded to (or the crappy internet café computer just can't handle it) So I'm splitting this submission into two parts._

_Please click to the next window to read the rest and hopefully your still interested enough to do so at this point J._


	3. Act 2 part 2

_Ok thanks for baring with me, here's the rest of act 2. Enjoy!_

Chapter 10.

The battle in the subconscious.

In the mansion hidden deep within the Arkly mountains insanity had clearly taken hold, not just the physical monsters of mutation but the fractured minds that many of the more intelligent denizens of the lands possessed.

For it was a well-documented fact that as the virus created by the scientists in their underground labs mutated the flesh, it also mutated the mind and indeed the very soul of its host.

A man driven insane by a voice inside his head, whispering dark words of feasting on the flesh of his colleges, the whispering breaking his resolve until when the change came he welcomed the oblivion of his sentience.

A snake now turned into a queen, dominating the shadows of the forests with chilling eyes and crushing coils. Her own mind heightened beyond that of an animal, now possessing a terrible cunning and intelligence all thanks to the virus in her cells.

A girl tortured and broken by men and disease, her form now barely human and her mind on the very brink of collapse. Her frantic hold on her humanity slowly slipping away as the virus whispers in her mind.

And lying between death and life on a stained white bed another victim of humanities cruelty, barely alive his mind is open, weak…VULNERABLE.

The setting is a room shrouded in darkness, indeed a room is a false description as no walls can be seen and the impression of anyone viewing this place would believe that the darkness extends forever in all directions.

In this 'room' of shadows a light flickers weakly in the centre of the shadows, for indeed the shadows are very intent on this light in their midst. Inside the pool of light there is a bed, dusty and with hints of white on its sheets that has mainly turned a dark red.

On this bed lays a young creature, a Tyrant who has named himself Hazard, unaware of the irony of this, and now rests as his body slowly heals itself.

The darkness is watching him but Hazard is unaware, he merely sleeps on, peaceful in the small oasis of light he resides in unknowing of what is happening around him.

Or of whom is watching him.

At the edge of the shadows between the light and dark a cloaked and hooded figure stares at the sleeping Tyrant, no features can be determined on this figure except its height that is just below six foot.

Still the figure says nothing just stares at the sleeping Tyrant, a shift of its hood suggests a tilting of the head as Hazard mumbles words in his sleep.

Within the cowl two black eyes glint in amusement, or perhaps just because of the light reflecting off them like mirrors, and perhaps it is smiling or just as easily snarling.

However the silent watchers actions become more focused as it senses a change in the darkness around it, the shadows become tangible more oppressive, enclosing… threatening.

The cloaked figure turns and stares into the darkness defiantly, its unseen eyes gazing into the dark as if it can see something approaching, something invisible yet nevertheless can be perceived by the cloaked figure.

And when the shadows begin to move, flowing like fog around the pool of light the figure acts.

Quickly stepping out of the darkness, ignoring the tentacles of shadow that are questing along the barrier of light, the figure strides purposely over to Hazards sleeping form.

The figure stops beside Hazard. Its gaze, now silvery in the light, looking tenderly over the sleeping tyrant. A gloved hand reaches out and gently touches Hazards cheek running along it comfortingly.

Hazard sighs in his sleep and curls upon himself blissfully and the watcher chuckles at his actions.

Then an insane laugh cuts through the silence like a knife, echoing around them sinisterly.

The figure stops its actions and quickly stands stiff and alert as its senses, far different to the material five, scanned the darkness that now bellowed and swirled like storm around this island of light.

The laugh sounds out again, madness and cruelty evident in its high notes, and the watcher looks down upon Hazard.

"We will protect you Hazard… we promise" The figure whispers in a soft and musical voice.

"_We will protect you Hazard! Ha! So full of purpose are we?" _A voice hissed, for indeed it had a voice perfect for hissing, mockingly from behind.

The watcher stiffens again but does not turn around; "You have no right to be here," It says softly but with grim warning.

"_I have as much right to be here as you, perhaps even more so! This body is mine, Hazard is mine, and you are nothing more then an echo of a dead and weak mind" _The voice hissed again, but this time filled with menace and challenge.

"You are a corruption neither we, nor Hazard, wanted… you have no rights here"

"_I do not need the right spectre I only need the power! And it is growing! You tried to stop me but if I recall wasn't it I who saved Hazard from that wretchedly inferior bioweapon?"_

"You did not save him! You placed him in even greater danger then needed, you unleashed your frenzy on that zombie and it was Hazard who had to suffer for it!" The watcher roared, its gloved hands bunching up with anger.

"And don't think we don't know why you did it… we know what you have planned!"

At this the cloaked figure looked down towards Hazards body and pointed at Hazards tail, "We know what you wanted" it said quietly as its extended finger pointed towards a lump of flesh growing on the Tyrants tail.

"_If you should fall I shall regenerate you, if you should be bested I will give you the weapons to win next time, if you should die! I will reincarnate you! THAT is my promise to Hazard and I am fore filling it!" _The creature behind roared in anger, the shadows around the light rolled and broiled in response.

"He never asked for your promise, and WE never asked for you… Virus"

And saying this the cloaked figure, Hazards subconscious, turned and beheld the monster behind it.

The creature grinned at the other, pink gums glistening with saliva and blood as long serrated teeth were bared for view.

"_Look upon me 'protector' and see that this is how Hazard SHOULD be. THIS is the pinnacle of what I can make him into!"_

And the cloaked figure did, gazing in revulsion at the monstrous apparition before it.

Its figure was humanoid, and if the cloaked figure tried hard he could see a lot of Hazard buried in the perverse form. Certainly the majority of its skin was a light purple, the height was the same as Hazards, and there was still slenderness and some grace in its physique.

But that's where it ended, after that everything else of Hazards had been mutilated by this… abomination!

Horrible lumps of flesh like tumours grew all over its body, many of them with slim wiggling tendrils of flesh like worms emerging from them.

Hazards clawed hands, once delicate and beautiful like an ornate weapon had now changed to the equivalent of a rusty cleaver. Knobs of flesh grew around the knuckles and the claws themselves had extended by a foot and covered with venomous slime.

What were worse were the long tentacles like great whips that grew out of Hazards left arm. Coiling obscenely around the limb they grew from they reached to the floor and were covered in pink bulging veins.

Hazards tail too had been horribly mutated as the cloaked figure's revolted gaze swept down the creature's form. The previously slender tail now was covered in seeping tumours and spines of bone erupted from its length.

Even worse was that the tail had split at the end like a forked tongue both ends wiggling with pained spasms.

Forcing itself not to throw up, although technically it couldn't though it could feel the sensation, the watcher looked upon the mutation's face almost backing away in horror at the sight.

Nothing of Hazard was left here; the previously gentle and beautiful features ha vanished in a wave of mutation.

Hazards soft lips and smile were gone, the mouth stretched wide by the rows of serrated teeth that had erupted from the gums forcing the creature to keep its mouth open in a snarl. Even as it watched the figure saw a long slimy tongue shift lazily in the diseased orifice.

The nose had become nothing more then two slits above the mouth, and Hazards ears had fallen away leaving only two holes in the side of the monsters face.

Even more horrible was the next mutation, extreme in its corruption of Hazard. Hazards long jet-black hair had fallen away completely leaving the head bald, what was sickening was the thick tentacles of flesh that grew from his skull, three on top and another behind that coiled around the monsters head languidly.

The skin was stretched upwards by the tentacles and was covered it bulging veins, the effect was to remove all beauty from Hazard.

Finally the ultimate 'rape' of Hazards form was examined and the watcher felt his rage grow as he looked into the monsters mocking eyes.

The previously jewel-like golden orbs had been corrupted into a bulging red-vein filled parody of themselves. The golden iris had become a milky white surrounded by redness on the eye itself.

Worse still was the pupil, a single tiny black dot on both eyes through which pure, joyful, insanity stared out.

"You are nothing but filth… a rapist of beauty and corrupter of innocence" The watcher forced out through gritted teeth. It moved closer to Hazard protectively as those two black dots of the virus blazed with fury.

"_I am perfection. Hazards physical appearance may be, shall we say, no longer pleasing but in the end does it matter?"_

The creature spread its hands in a gesture of appraisal, its many tentacles swam through the air, and coiling around the body they inhabited with excitement.

"_In this form he would be invincible! Immune to disease, age or poison. Any bodily damage would be repaired in seconds and his strength and ferocity would bring swift death to any who oppose him!"_

The Virus smiled its shark-like grin, _"I offer him safety and strength… and what can you offer him? A mere voice in his mind?"_ The Virus asked with amused disgust.

The watcher raised its head and stood tall and proud, "I offer what he truly needs… Trust, loyalty, friendship and compassion… things you cannot give him" The watcher said with conviction.

The Virus unleashed a high pitched laugh, clutching itself and shrieking in incredulous disbelief.

"_Trust! Friendship!" _The Virus laughed some more before it got a grip on itself then eyed the watcher in distaste_; "These are delusions, pathetic imaginings of weak willed minds trying to find some pride in their lives when they do not have the strength to advance their own position!"_

The Virus's pinpoint pupils glanced towards Hazard for a second then shot back towards the cloaked figure between them, _"Hazard does not need such things, not friendship, not beauty, only POWER!"_

The Virus snarled and lashed its whip like tentacles as it flexed its claws, _"And he does not need you…"_

The virus stepped forward into the ring of light, there was a moments resistance as the Virus pushed against the barrier but it quickly gave in and now the monstrous creature stood just a few feet from the cloaked figure who tensed in anticipation of conflict.

"You would do well to be wary of us" The watcher hissed at the Virus.

It laughed insolently, _"You have no power here, I am the true strength of Hazard and now I will guide him, _The Virus pointed an outstretched claw towards the cloaked figure, _"Now STEP ASIDE!"_

"Never"

"_So be it!" _The Virus shrieked and lunged for its adversary, teeth bared, tentacles outstretched and claws extended to their fullest.

The Virus flew through the air, an engine of incredible power, strong, fast, possessing incredible regeneration and the power of mutation and as it hovered above its enemy the cloaked figure looked small and frail compared to the beast.

The monster was within inches of its prey, eyes shining with bloodlust; spittle flying from its mouth as it loomed over the watcher and on the bed Hazard whimpered in his sleep.

Then the watcher's eyes glowed with silver light under its hood and it waved its hand in a back slap at the lunging monster.

A wave of force slammed into the monster smashing into it and pushing it back with stunning strength, the Virus screaming in shocked disbelief as it was thrown back into the shadows.

The watcher stepped forward hand raised before it and a pale blue glow illuminating the gloved hand, it reached the edge of the barrier but stopped when it saw the Virus was not where it had landed.

The cloaked figure quickly backed up to Hazard who was squirming restlessly in his sleep, the figure glanced down wanting to comfort him but knowing it couldn't just yet.

Unfortunately the second it looked at Hazard was when the Virus struck.

Charging from the right the Virus roared as it slammed into the watcher, the cloaked one crying out as they both fell to the floor.

A powerful bony hand clamped onto the watchers neck and with frenzied speed quickly slammed the hooded figures head into the ground, the watcher tried to fight of the nausea as the Virus's high pitched laughter rang in its ears.

The watcher raised its hand to throw Virus off it but fell back with a scream as the Virus's tentacles stabbed into its body, the Virus laughed as its squirming tentacles moved within the struggling figure tearing at its psyche.

"_Did you really think you could save him?" _The Virus whispered softly as the watcher struggled beneath it, _"You survived the corruption of the body, I am impressed that even this much of you was left"_

The watcher snarled and quickly raised a hand towards the creature a slivery glow beginning to grow but acting with lighting speed a tentacle wrapped around the hand and forced it back down.

The figure groaned as it felt itself breaking up, the tentacles inside it couldn't do physical damage because they were both mental manifestations, but it could feel itself being overruled and erased by The Virus that held it down.

"_You must of known that this would happen? Did you think you were special, that you could somehow survive the… persuasive power of the virus on a mind?"_

"You haven't killed us yet! Hazard still remains and you won't have him!" The watcher yelled defiantly as it fought the grip on its limbs.

The Virus laughed and leaned closer its mad eyes glowing as it smiled at the struggling persona.

"_But I have killed you… I corrupted your body, I erased your mind and have made you into something far greater then you once were!"_

The Virus glanced towards Hazard who was tossing and turning in distress on the bed, the Virus grinned and spat out, _"And in a few seconds you will be gone and I will turn Hazard into the Tyrant he should be! And your precious 'humanity' that you cling to will be swept away like all the others who have been blessed by a virus!"_

The Virus threw its head back laughing in triumph as it contemplated the insanity to come and the change it would enforce on Hazard, beneath it the cloaked figure stared up in horror as it imagined too what would happen.

"**Are we gonna be ok?"**

The watcher frowned as the words of Hazard came back to him, their last conversation before his sleep.

"**I don't wanna die"**

The watcher felt tears fall from its slivery eyes, this monster above him would never care for Hazard like it did… would never comfort him, never laugh with him, never feel happy with him.

"**You've been a good voice in my head"**

The watcher felt new strength flow through his body as he glared up at the laughing Virus through a red haze, with a rising growl he began to raise his hand.

'Hazard doesn't need the power of mutation'

The hand was raising and the Virus looked down in confusion as the hand stretched out towards it, it snarled and tried to pull the hand back down but it wouldn't budge.

'Hazard doesn't want to be a Tyrant he wants to be HUMAN!'

The silvery glow returned and the hand began to glow with blinding light as the Virus shrieked in pain and surprise.

"Hazard doesn't want you he wants ME YOU BASTARD!" The figure screamed in righteous fury and expelled its power in an explosion of energy.

The Virus screamed as it was blasted off of the watcher; it soared through the air disappearing into the shadows again.

The cloaked figure struggled to its feet swaying slightly as it stared into the swirling blackness around it, it waited a few seconds then the Virus broke cover roaring at the top of its voice as it charged forward with claws bared.

The cloaked figure danced to the side with incredible speed, swinging right and under the Virus's attempted tackle as the monster charged past.

Still moving the cloaked one charged up a ball of silver light in its gloved hands and pivoting on a foot it turned towards the Virus and threw it forward.

The Virus didn't have time to move as the silver orb smashed into its back exploding and throwing the Virus a few meters away to the edge of the darkness in a crumpled heap.

The Virus slowly levered itself to its feet; its eyes blazing as it stared at the silent watcher, who stood poised and ready. The monster screamed and charged again this time lashing the air with its whip-like tentacles.

The hooded figure didn't try to evade this time, its whole body glowing and it merely raised its hands above it and to its horror the Virus felt itself gripped in an irresistible grasp as it began to float into the air.

"Time for you to go" The watcher whispered as it made a few complex passes in the air with its hands, the Virus shrieked a, _"You can't do this!" _but the watcher merely smiled and threw its hands to both sides.

The Virus screamed as it began to glow with a blinding light; its shrieks becoming higher pitched until with a last flash it disappeared completely.

The watcher sagged in exhaustion and closed its eyes tiredly, around it the black clouds became calmer and more languid.

The hooded figure forced itself to walk and stumbled over to Hazard who was curled upon himself and shaking fiercely, the young male shivered as the watcher laid a hand on his shoulder but soon relaxed at the soothing touch.

The cloaked one stared out into the darkness as it stroked Hazards cheek contemplating the future; the Virus was not dead of that it was sure. It merely had the power to banish the Virus it couldn't kill it completely.

It sighed and murmured, "But at least we won this battle".

Looking down at Hazard it felt the shadows around it flow in excitement as Hazard began to slowly awake the watcher smiled and moved closer to Hazards pointed ear.

"We will always protect you, we promise"

And in his sleep Hazard mumbled a "I know" as he began to regain consciousness.

Chapter 11.

Hard decisions.

Lisa had been searching for that insufferable creature for over an hour now and had found not a single trace of him!

She wondered where he had gone as she sat on a dusty step of the stairwell down to the first floor, behind her was the second floor balcony above the dining hall and that was where she had last got a clue to Hazards whereabouts.

"Stupid, irritating thing" She muttered to her self as her tentacles slapped against the wooden banister anxiously.

Her ears twitched as the zombies below her began to fight and she leaned forward for a better look.

Looking between the banister she saw that the two zombies below had dragged a mutilated corpse along the ground tearing off chunks and fighting for the choice parts.

She sniffed the air again, which she had done twice over, and still couldn't pick up anything over the heavy rank smell of blood in the air.

She looked down at the body as a loud crack echoed in the room, a zombie had torn open the corpse's rip cage and was biting deep into the heart nestled within, pushing away the other as it did so.

Lisa licked her lips and had to fight the urge to rush down there and claim the meat for herself, she hadn't eaten for awhile and despite the gruesome sight and smell Lisa couldn't be bothered to be squeamish, food was food as far as she was concerned.

But… there was the worry.

'What if its him?' She wondered nervously.

Despite her previous thoughts now with the possibility of that mangled corpse being Hazard she found herself feeling… sadness.

"But why? Why should I care for that thing" She growled in annoyance at herself, even as she said it the answer formed in her consciousness.

'Because of a smile, and soulful eyes'

The confused Tyrant cradled her head in her bound hands in distress; YES she did feel some sadness for him. He had done nothing wrong… he had seemed so nice and felt wrong for him to die like that.

He had smiled at her and shown mercy when no one else had… and what had she done? Tried to kill him twice!

'But he's a… boy. He's dangerous and a threat to me, he's stronger then me!' She thought fearfully.

But then she remembered the purple ones squeak and his embarrassment outside… such a creature couldn't be evil could it?

"This is getting me nowhere" She muttered and glanced at the body. She needed to know right now whether he was alive or dead.

Cause if he was dead then at least she could get over him.

Quickly hurrying down the stairs she stopped before the feasting zombies hissing fiercely and raising her tentacles in challenge.

The two zombies glanced at her, she could tell that they where wondering what to do… their rotten brains didn't allow them to think fast really.

'Oh well their loss'

Lunging forward she grasped the closest zombie with her bound hands and dragged him upright; before it could think to attack she swung round and threw it at the wall behind her.

There was a loud crack as its bones broke at the impact and it fell to the floor in a heap black blood trickling from a large crack down its skull.

The other zombie rose to its feet and stepped forward clumsily raising its arms towards Lisa and groaning. She just stepped forward and lashed at its head with a tentacle practically tearing it off then throwing the body to one side with dismissal.

Both zombies dealt with she kneeled down beside the seeping corpse fighting off her hunger and focusing on the unease she felt, it gave her focus although made her feel annoyingly upset.

Her tentacles sorted through the body, the clothes were ragged, blood covered, and even worse there were tatters of a lab coat.

'He was wearing a lab coat' She thought in mounting dread.

She found a hand that was undamaged and gave a sharp gasp at the long claws that grew from its fingers.

'Could be anything, claws are common with viral creatures' She thought to reassure herself.

She couldn't find a tail that was a plus but with all the damage it could have been torn off and eaten.

She turned the body over frowning in distaste at the ruined mess of its face as she did and as she did something heavy fell from the body.

She almost jumped at the noise then quickly looked for the source, she saw that the other hand of the body had been clutching something which it had dropped when she moved it.

Reaching forward with trembling hands she picked up the item and stared in horror at the heavy metal object in her hands.

It was a large knife… the same one that the creature carried.

Lisa fell back onto the floor into a slump holding the knife and staring at it in shock, it couldn't be…

But as she looked at it she felt the implication of this sink in, Hazard was dead and this corpse (which she no longer felt like eating) was his.

"He's dead" She whispered. She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced down the sob she could feel rising, she hadn't felt so strange in a long time.

She swiped at her eyes as tears began to leak from them but despite her trying she couldn't stop the tears. Finally she did cry out, an enraged roar as she stabbed at the ground with the knife and smashed the floorboards with her tentacles.

"YOU BASTARD!" She screamed in fury and despair.

Yet another person had been taken from her, without realising it she had become to warm towards the purple one or at least the possibility of having a friend again. And now that would never happen...

After a minute of enraged thrashing, smashing the floor and punching holes in the walls she stopped only when exhaustion set in. Instead curled upon herself in a seated slump, her shoulders shaking with repressed sobs, and as she looked upon the corpse of Hazard her amber eyes glistened with tears.

"I'm sorry… that I never talked to you" she whispered, sniffling afterwards.

So she sat like that for a few minutes staring at the corpse, silent except for occasional sobs, then looked down at the knife in her hands.

She remembered when he had this poised above her, when he had the chance to kill her and he hadn't. Slowly she let the knife slip from her fingers until it fell to the hardwood floor with a dull clatter.

So that was it then… she was alone again.

She was surprised at the sick feeling that grew at the back of her throat and the vice grip that her heart felt trapped in, she hadn't felt like this since that time in her old cell when…

The girl hissed and her eyes glowed in anger as she almost remembered, a brief flash of anger made her swipe her tentacles across the ground slamming into Hazards corpse and turning it over with a dull thump.

Lisa laughed mirthlessly; "Now I'm hitting him even when he's dead" She chuckled, as her masks grew damp with tears. God she was no better then anything else here in this hell on earth.

So lost in her sadness Lisa didn't hear the faint snap as a damaged sinew dropped something onto the wooden floor, nor the wet rolling as a round object rolled towards her and thudded gently against one of her lying tentacles.

Her eyes looked down at it wearily and after a seconds consideration she realised it was an eye that had fallen free of the body, probably when she hit it.

She was about to slap it away in revulsion when she realised that this was the purple ones eye. Her sad gaze suddenly became thoughtful as she contemplated the white orb.

After a few moments deliberation she reached for it with her manacled hands and gingerly picked it up.

'I wanna see that look again' She thought with a smile of fond remembrance of golden eyes as she turned the eyeball round.

Then instantly frowned at the dull white eye and small pupil that looked up at her.

'This isn't right, Hazard had a bright golden iris?' She wondered as suspicion grew in her mind.

She sniffed the eyeball carefully recoiling at the pungent smell, the purple one probably hadn't bathed but he hadn't smelled that bad.

Praying for forgiveness if this was his eye Lisa popped it into her mouth and chewed carefully.

She snarled at the horrible taste but even as she did her spirits soared. The corruption in this eye was extensive and it tasted as if it had been dead far longer then a mere few hours.

'This isn't his eye at all!'

Although he was infected with a virus, (well to have purple skin, a tail and claws he had to be) he wasn't dead and therefor would not taste like something dug up out of the ground!

Spitting the eyeball out in disgust she quickly crawled over to the body and examined it more extensively.

After she wiped away the blood she discovered to her delight that the body was covered in red skin not crimson blood!

Its teeth too, though many were smashed, were rotten and cracked and Hazard had had a nice clean smile.

'This isn't him at all!'

"It's a zombie!" Lisa shrieked in delight, she threw her head back and laughed at the world for she had never felt such a powerful, and oh so wonderful, sense of relief.

Her ecstatic laughing turned into shoulder shaking chuckles as she shook her head in amusement at her own feelings.

"You bastard" She giggled, her swear much more pleasantly directed at Hazard. She couldn't believe how much trouble this one creature had put her through, she hadn't even talked to him yet and he had her crying like a five-year-old over his suspected corpse!

Standing up with a sigh and still snorting with laughter she looked around her, with a much happier outlook, and wondered where to go next.

It was then that her body voiced its own needs, the girl cringing as her stomach growled in indignation at its emptiness. It knew Lisa had a large stockpile of food and it was rightly annoyed that it was still empty.

"All right, all right I hear you" She muttered. Glancing around she gnawed her lip in indecision… would he be all right if she left for an hour to feed?

She glanced at the ruined body of the zombie at her feet. Doubtless he was strong enough to fend for himself for a little while.

'Though… there's stronger things then zombies here…'

After some seconds for thought Lisa reached a compromise with her stomach, she'd do one last circuit of the mansion to look for him and if she didn't she'd head towards the great hall and return to her cabin.

"Well one last try… for now" She said standing tall, (well as tall as the shackles allowed) then headed back up the stairs.

Half way up though she stopped as a thought hit her, glancing down the stairs she considered her brainstorm for a moment then hurried back down.

And picked up the Tyrants knife.

Stowing it within her rags she smiled at the thought of returning it to him, perhaps it would go some way to saying sorry?

At least it would show him she had a brain and wasn't just another monster, so decided she hurried back up the stairs and took her memorised routes through the mansion.

Hopefully she'd find him this time.

And maybe when she did she'd invite him to dinner?

Just one room away a sleeper slowly awoke from his unconscious stupor as Lisa hurried up the stairs outside.

Half awake Hazard mumbled nonsense as he heard the sound of her feet racing up the stairs, but by the time he opened his eyes and entered the realm of the waking the sound had faded and had been just as quickly dismissed by Hazards yawning senses.

Hazard lay on his front, arms and legs spread out exhaustedly and his face turned sorely to the right. His golden eyes looked ahead of him without seeing as his thoughts rested in a pleasant pink mist between sleep and consciousness.

He was aware, as much as his semi-conscious mind could be that there was something unpleasant looming in the horizon of his memory. Something that would make him feel very uneasy but for the life of him he couldn't think what it was.

Hazard closed his eyes and yawned widely, he finished and blinked his eyes moving a reluctant hand to wipe at the gunk around his sight.

And then the worry and unease that Hazard had been half-aware of hit him like a bullet.

Not just the normal kind but the variety that can punch holes through a tank.

Hazard gave a sharp gasp as the movement of his arm jumpstarted a circuit of pain throughout his body, his muscles were on fire, his insides felt like goo, and his head felt like something was trying to burst out of his skull!

"Oh god!" Hazard groaned falling limp again and shutting his eyes tight. What the hell happened to him, why was he in such pain?

'Be grateful for the pain Hazard' His subconscious said cheerfully.

"Why the hell should I be grateful!" Hazard hissed as he rolled over onto his back curling up in agony.

'It means you are still alive'

Hazard considered this ominous sentence even as he slowly fought against the pain, what the hell did his… subconscious mean?

'What do you mean?' He thought back questioningly, while trying to stretch a leg without it falling off.

'We mean that your body regenerated successfully, the pain while unfortunate means that your recovering' His subconscious answered matter-of-factly.

"Why am I in pain in the first place?" Hazard asked perplexed as he hesitantly swung his legs round and sat up, it hurt but the pain was reluctantly fading.

'You will soon remember Hazard'

"Remember what?"

'Just focus on overcoming the pain first then we will talk about what happened' His subconscious ordered.

Hazard felt his anger rise, which thankfully dulled the pain, he would not have his question ignored by himself! Or something like that anyway.

"NO, you will answer me now! What happened to me?" He yelled.

He felt his subconscious hesitate to speak, he waited a few seconds and then drew breath to swear at the damn thing when it spoke.

'Do you remember the stairs?' it asked quietly.

Hazard paused in mid-breath; he frowned but quickly racked his brains for the answer.

"I was walking down them, he said slowly, and something… grabbed me? Yes something grabbed my ankles"

Hazard looked into the distance as images unrolled behind his eyes, "I couldn't stop myself from falling, it was too strong for me"

He then shuddered, "Then I hit the floor and… the wall?" He reached for his head feeling his queasiness grow when he felt the long scar across his temple.

'What then?' His subconscious asked pressing on.

"A crimson came from the shadows, Hazards were now twin pools of golden terror, I tried to move but I couldn't get my limps to work, it lunged at me and I-I could see it so clearly… its hunger and its claws and teeth and then… and then…"

Hazard frowned as he dug deep into his memory… what had happened then?

'Is there anything you can remember Hazard?' Hazard noticed a trace of urgency in the voice.

"Just a… feeling" Hazard was growing very worried by this blank spot in his mind, "A feeling of… anger, rage and also joy… pleasure at doing… something"

'Is that all?'

Hazard closed his eyes tight trying to force out something from the pit in his memories.

Strange images flowed along his eyelids like painted canvas, tearing into something; blood and screaming… a sense of extreme thrill as claws tore into a face… and then.

Hazard screamed as a sudden horrifying image flashed before his eyes. A purple face with a wide toothy leer and red bulging eyes, blood gushing from pink lips and insanity shining from two pin sized pupils.

His own face warped into something else.

'ENOUGH!' his subconscious roared.

Hazard gave a yelp of surprise as the image faded and then another as he fell off the bed.

He lay with his ass propped against the bed and his head laying on the floor in silence. After a few minutes he asked, "What happened to me? Please"

'Hazard you're aware that we are another voice in your head, to be more precise we are a whole different persona in your mind'

Hazard nodded, "You said you were the person I used to be"

'Correct somehow we have survived the process done to your body and now we remain to guide and comfort you… at least we hope this is what we are doing' His subconscious said meekly.

Hazard smiled, "You're doing a good job" he conceded.

'Thank you… unfortunately we are not the only 'voice' in your head Hazard'

Hazard gingerly picked himself up and sat back on the edge of the bed, he stared at the floor distractedly as he thought back 'who else is in there?'

'The Virus Hazard, it too has a persona here thankfully not as… vocal as ours but it still exist here and that persona is responsible for your blackout'

Hazard felt his heart beat faster in terror, he licked his lips and asked incredulously, "It can control me?"

'To a degree, when you are angry, weak or very scared… until now it had been contained but as your wounds show it has now made an appearance'

Hazard looked down at the many scars, scabs and fresh sensitive skin that covered his body; "It did this to me? He wondered aloud, why would it hurt its host?"

'The crimson did that to you Hazard, the Virus just allowed the zombie to get in more hits then normally it would be capable of'

"But why?"

Here the voice went cold and tight with anger, 'To make you need more regeneration Hazard… look at your tail'

Hazard still felt confused and fairly frightened but reached for his tail and dragged in onto his lap, he examined it carefully and stared in surprise at the anomaly.

A large lump, a strange swelling under the skin, was growing on the underside of his tail. Hazard reached for it prodding it gingerly and quickly pulled his hand back in disgust when yellow pus dribbled out of it.

"What is it?" Hazard asked fearfully.

'It is a mutation… thankfully relatively minor and easily removed' Hazards subconscious answered.

Hazard continued to stare at it in revulsion then jumped into action as he quickly ran his claws over himself frenziedly searching for more stigmas in his terror.

'Hazard relax! There are no more mutations we are sure!'

"PLEASE TELL ME THAT IM NOT GONNA MUTATE! I DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE THE OTHERS!" Hazard screamed in panic, the thought of becoming a mindless monster heightening his terror.

'You are not going to mutate Hazard now calm down!' His subconscious ordered hotly.

Hazard fell quiet panting slightly as he fought to calm his heart; he closed his eyes tight and took a few calming breaths then glared at the lump on his tail.

He wanted rid of that filthy aberration… he didn't care how much it hurt he was not going to allow anymore perversions of his form.

Reaching for the cancerous lump Hazard began to dig his claws into the skin around it, he gritted his teeth as the skin tore and yellow and red slime oozed out.

The pain was intense and Hazard bit his lip to stop himself crying out, which didn't help much as now his teeth were cutting into the soft flesh of his lips. His tail shook with agony as Hazard felt his claws sink deep into the flesh and he had to hold it still with his other hand.

Feeling around under the skin and the hard muscle he could feel a firm lump inside the swelling itself, curling his claws around it he took a deep breath then ripped it out with a powerful pull of his arm.

"ARRRGGHH!" Hazard finally unleashed a scream as his tail was set alight with pain, he fell back onto the bed sobbing in pain as he felt blood stream from his fifth limb and hoped that it would heal soon.

'Do not worry Hazard, we will ensure it heals normally' His subconscious said quietly.

Hazard whimpered a "Thanks" as his chest rose and fell like a piston as he tried to ignore the pain, thankfully after a few minutes the agony faded and Hazard risked a glance at his tail.

The torn skin was now covered in a thick pulsating scab, bright red with streaks of black on it, his tail was shaking traumatically and Hazard gently stroked it in apology.

He then realised he still had the lump in a tightly clenched hand, cautiously opening his claws he eyed the hideous flesh that squatted on his palm.

It was like some kind of fleshy seed, about the size of a walnut and pinkish in colour it was covered in bumps and veins. Even worse was a small tentacle that was emerging from the top of it and, to Hazards disgust, still wiggling.

He growled and tore the disgusting mass apart feeling some small satisfaction at this. Afterwards he peeled off his lab coat, which took some time due to all the blood that glued it to his body, and used it to clean himself up.

He considered the dirty garment in his claws and decided that it was better to be bare then wear this filth, so Hazard chucked it into the nearest corner.

"Another question" Hazard stated after some consideration, he placed his claws on his hips and tilted his head thoughtfully, "How come I haven't mutated yet? Why do I still have my mind when everything else infected by a virus either goes insane or dies… what's so special about me?"

'Because of us' His subconscious answered with some trepidation.

"Explain"

'We swore to protect you and we shall… we are the one that keeps the virus in check, it wished to mutate you but we prevented it'

Hazard fell silent as he considered this, "You… protected me?' He asked nervously.

'Yes Hazard'

"Why?" Hazard paused then added more meaning; "I mean of course you don't want a messed up host body but what other motives do you have?" He spat aggressively.

His subconscious was silent for a moment then it whispered, 'Is that what you think of us?'

Hazard frowned at the sad and accusing tone, to tell the truth he didn't believe this 'voice' was evil but he was feeling very confused and a little scared so he couldn't stop his harsh words. "I don't know what to think, I have two people in my head one of which wants to make me into a monster according to you! So forgive me if I sound harsh but I'm just trying to make some sense of this!"

He sighed and began to pace around irritably, "Doesn't help that I'm a damn schizophrenic" he muttered.

'We mean you no harm Hazard… if you cant believe that we care for you then believe that is in our best interests at least that you remain intact for both our sakes'

Hazard hung his head, his lank hair falling over his eyes. After a few moments consideration he chuckled and said bemusedly, "Strange thing is 'voice in my head'… I do believe you"

He looked up at the ceiling with a still bemused smile, "Weird that the only person I can trust is myself… but sorta not myself if you get my meaning?"

'We do Hazard, and we are proud to have your trust' His subconscious said happily.

Hazard laughed, "Man what would I do without you in my head?" Hazard frowned as a thought came to him, "Still I bet a lot of people when all alone imagine voices in their heads to keep them company"

'As we assured you when we first spoke you are not insane, we are real… well as real as a bodiless personality can be' His subconscious conceded.

Hazard nodded and looked around him curiously, now that that was settled he wondered what to do now? But before he could dwell on that something else began to bug him.

"You know, he said hesitantly, if you are 'real' then you need a name… I can't just keep calling you 'voice in my head' can I?"

His subconscious seemed to consider this, 'Very well we agree but we have no ideas of what to call ourselves'

"Ok then we need a name for you, Hazard said cheerfully while pacing again, something unusual like my name but also something that states what you are"

'We have no ideas Hazard'

Hazard frowned as his subconscious spoke, "We…we…we…" he snapped his claws, "That's it!"

'We are not being called 'wee'' His subconscious said with unamusement.

Hazard grinned, "You always refers to yourself as 'we' and me and you are pretty tight and united so I thought how's about… Unity!" he said proudly.

His subconscious considered the name, 'Unity…'

"Well?"

'We… like it. Yes from now on we are Unity' Said Unity pleased.

"Great!" Hazard beamed in delight as he looked around him, "Now Unity what do you think we should do now?"

'We think that perhaps you should find some new clothes' Unity said with a chuckle as Hazard eyed his ripped and torn jeans, and the mud encrusted 'footwear' he wore.

"Suppose your right" Hazard conceded. He looked around for inspiration for this dilemma and his golden gaze fell on the chest that was propped up against a wall beside the door.

"Aha?"

'We too are optimistic' Unity said as Hazard crept over to the metal strongbox with a hopeful expression.

Hazard ran his claws over the cold metal lid of the chest hoping that perhaps this would have the answer, considering the track record of the previous metal chests he had high hopes.

With a deep breath he grasped the lid and threw it open. He stared in silence at the contents for a second then whooped and jumped into the air in delight, (Then winced and rubbed his sides as his wounds grumbled).

Hazard sorted through the jumbled clothing throwing the useless ones aside, those being the ones too small or too ravaged, and tossing the promising candidates on the bed.

He squealed in amazement as he found some footwear hidden at the bottom of the heap. Pulling them out he found them to be some old trainers, a bit weathered but still in good condition.

They were coloured a dark black with red and white soles and some red stripes along the back. Hazard tore off the straps of leather that had protected his feet, (having to use his teeth at some point due to how tight they were) and hesitantly placed his right foot inside a trainer.

"They fit!" The tyrant yelled in excitement, Unity just laughed within his skull as Hazard pulled the other trainer on and took a few testing steps.

"Well that's my feet sorted, Hazard eyed the crumpled clothing on the bed, now lets see if there's anything else here of interest"

Hazard poked his head out of the door of his hideout scoping the area for threats, he wondered about the three dead zombies on the floor beside the stairs but quickly dismissed it.

He stepped outside shutting the door behind him hoping that nothing would wander inside, as the door couldn't be locked from this side. The medical room made a good hideout considering it had a bed, (Though he'd have to find new sheets) chest, medical stuff and a lockable door.

He patted the door amiably then took a few steps towards the stairway his crossbow drawn, no way was he gonna let his guard down again.

At the zombies he stopped in disgust at the large pool of blood around the mangled corpse of the crimson 'he' had killed… probably the zombies had come to feed on it.

'And then something else killed then it seems' Unity mused.

Hazard eyed the two dead 'normal' zombies, one looked like its head had been wrenched off and another was halfway through a wall.

'Whatever it was it must have been in a hurry as they haven't been eaten' Hazard mused.

He eyed the bodies again, he really wanted to search the area for his knife as doubtless it had been lost during the fight and couldn't be too far away.

But considering all the blood he didn't want to dirty his new found clothes.

Not for the first time Hazard looked upon himself admirably, damn he looked great.

Above his trainers he wore a new pair of jeans, darker toned then the previous and with some slashes around the knees and lower legs to add some nice effects, (He had done it himself with his claws).

He also wore a red long-sleeved shirt with the words 'j00 d34d f00' across the chest in white and black lettering, he wasn't quite sure what it meant but it looked great!

And on top of that a simple black jacket that he had left unzipped exposing the shirt below, and additionally it had a strange grinning face on the back with the words 'Bit3 m3' underneath.

He couldn't believe his luck in finding these items, and some extras, in that chest.

All in all he though he looked pretty sweet.

So rummaging in that bloody messes for his knife was making Hazard carefully weigh up the pros and cons.

'Weapons are more important then looks Hazard' Unity pointed out annoyed.

"Some things are worth small sacrifices," Hazard said clutching his new clothes fearfully.

'Hazard stop being an idiot. Get in that mess and find the knife!'

Rolling his eyes and grumbling distractedly Hazard knelt down and began to poke around the body (Using his crossbow when possible) and trying to keep his clothes clean.

After a few minutes, and much swearing, he was slightly confused on the lack of knifes in this room.

It wasn't in any of the zombies and despite searching back and forth along the corridor he couldn't find it.

"This is weird" Hazard muttered as he sat on the stairs thinking.

'Perhaps it was taken?' Unity suggested.

"By what?"

'Whatever killed the zombies'

Hazard thought about this carefully. Whatever had killed these zombies had been strong to do such damage, he glanced at the holes and deep imprints in the floor and walls around the battle site, and yet intelligent enough not to just start eating and make off with his knife.

Perhaps a reptile thing?

Hazard shook his head dismissing that thought, why would one of them be interested in his knife. Their claws looked sharp enough already.

'Maybe something we have yet to meet?' Unity said.

Hazard sighed, "Well what should we do now? Continue to explore the mansion… we haven't been to the other side yet."

Unity considered this, 'In time Hazard, it said slowly, but for now we should see to your body's needs'

Hazard frowned at this and quickly did a check over of himself, "I feel fine?" he said confused.

Unity chuckled, 'Yes Hazard but pretty soon the effects of so much regeneration is gonna kick in and your gonna be starving… besides I know you haven't drunk anything for almost a day'

Hazard considered as he licked his lips thoughtfully, yes he was feeling a little thirsty.

He stood up and did a little stretching, "I suppose I should try and find a way back to those caves"

Hazard winced as he thought about having to go through that cabin to get down there… seeing that dead girls home was bad enough but having to brave that tentacle creature again was NOT going to be fun.

'We would have thought just going underground would be bad?' Unity asked amusedly.

"Can it" Hazard growled.

He sighed and examined his crossbow again; at least he still had one good weapon left and if that failed him…

He held up his claws grinning as he flexed the powerful digits, that tentacle thing was gonna get it if it tried another fight.

So motivated Hazard headed up the stairs and set a course for the great hall, he winced with every step and grew somewhat annoyed with the aches of his body.

'Bloody regeneration why can't it be quicker?'

'Stop your grumbled the pain means you're not dead'

'Yeah but if I was dead I wouldn't be alive to feel the pain'

Lisa stared up at the painted wall thoughtfully; she wondered whom this family was meant to be considering daddy made this place.

'Its not us' She mused, not for the first time, so who where these people to daddy?

She shrugged and turned away walking back down the carpeted stairs to the lobby; she had to stop wondering about such stupid things.

She looked around her considering what direction to take now or if perhaps she should stake out the great hall and see if passes by at some point.

'Everything wanders across here at some point' She thought with experience. She knew most of the routes the monsters took to get around.

She shuddered as her stomach growled painfully and plunked herself down on the comfy stairs; she leaned her head on the ornate banister staring at the great double doors wondering if it was worth hiding here. For all she knew he wouldn't come by for days.

It was as she was considering what option to take that a loud creak sounded through the hall, Lisa snapped her gaze towards the great double doors in surprise as it slowly began to open.

The doors stopped halfway and Lisa's stare became a concerned frown as she sniffed at the air and began to slowly stand up… something was hiding just out of sight behind the door.

She was about to turn and shuffle up the stairs when a chorus of chirps and squeals began to argue behind the doors, Lisa felt her heart pound and blood race as she recognised those noises.

It was then that the reptilian head poked carefully around the doorway. Two murky brown eyes looked around carefully until they fell on Lisa's frozen figure on the stairs.

The slits of its pupils widened but instead of quickly backing away like Lisa hoped the Hunter gave a wide grin of delight as it stepped into the room.

Lisa felt her tentacles quiver and her hands bunch up into fists as her body prepared for battle, she wrestled down her fear disgusted with her unease. It was just one Hunter she could tear the thing apart.

As if sensing her changed mood the Hunter turned its head towards the double doors, its slitted eyes still locked on hers, and shrieked a high pitched chirp of command.

Lisa felt her fear return redoubled as more Hunters filed into the room standing to attention behind the one that had called them, some of them looked nervous but as their numbers increased they stared at her in growing hunger and confidence.

Lisa continued to count in growing horror as more stepped into the mansion until a total of seven Hunters leered at her.

The larger one at the centre who had called them glanced to his sides at his brethren and Lisa knew he was saying 'I have the advantage here'.

His eyes looked back at hers and they were filled with triumph and gleeful anticipation, as Lisa looked closer at its features she groaned as memory gave her a sickening realisation.

She was certain this was the same Hunter she had met yesterday, the one she had wrestled the deer carcass from.

Now it seemed he had come for payback.

Lisa hunched herself up and felt her frenzy grow in anticipation of battle, her tentacles slashed through the air excitedly and she clenched her fists as she prepared to lash out.

She snarled at the group and rising up unleashed her characteristic shriek that made several of them cower momentarily.

If she were going to die here she'd take all of these monsters with her!

The leading Hunter chirped and waved his arm towards Lisa, the Hunters surrounded her and began to close in. Their fanged maws drooled with saliva, their claws shook with excitement and their eyes glowed with rising bloodlust as they inched closer to Lisa.

The leading Hunter grinned at Lisa and chirped again. And was answered by six ravenous roars as the Hunters charged the defiant figure.

And battle was joined.

Hazard stopped in mid-chew as the sound of shrieks and animalistic roars echoed around him; he cocked his head listening intently as the sound of fighting reached his pointed ears.

"The hells going on?" He murmured as he swallowed the piece of meat he had scrounged from the kitchens.

'We don't know, perhaps we should investigate Hazard?' Unity said curiously.

Interest aroused Hazard listened for a moment trying to deduce the location of the sounds, the growls and screams were faint yet seemed to be coming from the direction of the great hall.

Holding tight to his crossbow Hazard raced towards the hall wondering what weirdness was going on now?

Lisa snarled in defiance as the Hunters circled her, already she sported several wounds but the dead Hunter at her feet proved that they were not unrewarded.

Still regenerating was a slow business and every hit made her that bit slower so that when they next stuck she-

'Damn!'

Lisa gritted her teeth as a Hunter lashed her with its claws scoring her sides and retreating before she could counter, she cursed as her wounds slowed her tentacles response as the Hunter ducked under her swipe chirping in amusement.

Embroidered by its fellows success another Hunter tried to attack from Lisa's other side but her anger gave her the needed speed as she danced away from its attack.

The split second of unbalance as the Hunter missed was enough for Lisa, lunging froward she swung her bound hands like a hammer catching the Hunter under the chin with a devastating blow.

There was a loud crack as its jaw broke and it spurted teeth and blood as it was thrown head over heels. It hit the ground in a dazed heap and before the others could come to its rescue Lisa smashed a foot onto its skull. Her virus enhanced strength causing more then a bad headache.

She allowed herself a brief smirk of satisfaction before the remaining five rushed her with animalistic screams of fury. Then she could only focus on surviving.

Hazard raced through the dining room as a strange sense of urgency forced his legs to ignore the pain and instead focus on accelerating.

For some reason he felt he had to see this fight, whomever it was fighting, and possibly intervene.

For all Hazard knew it could be a human fighting just ahead in desperate need of aid.

He skidded to a halt before the carved wooden doors to the entrance hall and a sudden sense of preservation made him stop in his blind rush to throw open the double doors as dramatically as he could.

'After all it could be a bunch of crimsons having a party that's private membership only'

'Unlikely but possible' Unity murmured.

Carefully opening the door a crack Hazard glanced into the next room cautiously trying to make sense of the scene that met his astonished eyes.

There were reptile things for a start. Three of them lay dead on the marble floor in various poses and another four were clustered around something at the other end of the hall. They were chirping and growling in excitement and Hazard eased himself into the room beginning to circle round silently to see what they were focused on.

It became apparent when the 'thing' they were around unleashed a scream of rage and two reptiles were thrown into the air squealing in dismay.

Hazard stared in surprise at the tentacle creature that towered for a moment above the hissing monsters, its tentacles slashed through the air warningly, its stance was strong and powerful despite the blood that covered it and its amber eyes glowed with hate.

And then the moment was lost as the two reptiles still standing lunged at it and brought it crashing to the ground.

'Its putting up a fight' Unity whispered in awe as a reptile was thrown aside by the waving tentacles. For a second it looked like it would break free but as the tentacle creature tried to get back to its feet a bigger reptile planted its fist into its face with a resounding crack.

Hazard winced at the noise and continued to stare unsure of what action to take. The tentacle creature had tried to kill him TWICE! Some people would say it was deserving of a good beating, Karma obviously.

Yet watching this unfair battle as the four reptiles ganged up on this one opponent he could feel his morals yelling at him to intervene.

When the creature screamed, a surprisingly human one too, as a reptile broke through its defences and almost severed one of its tentacles Hazard knew he had to act.

"Bloody morals" He swore and leapt into the fray.

Lisa knew she was in serious trouble now.

It was becoming harder and harder to keep the Hunters at bay as they swarmed round her scratching and clawing every chance they had.

Every time she tried to get to her feet one of them would sweep her legs out from under her or slam her back into the ground, it didn't help that the ringleader had almost torn one of her tentacles in half.

The chance for escape had long passed and Lisa could feel real fear grow in her chest as she fought to keep them at bay as her tentacles wildly slashed the air.

But she knew, and so did they that she couldn't keep this up for long. They were willing to wait until she grew tired and then they would break through the barrier of her tentacles and attack her more vulnerable body.

She felt her extra limbs weakening and as their attacks slowed the Hunters acted three of them quickly grasping them and holding her tentacles still. The leader barked a command and one of them rose up above her raising its claws like an executioners blade as it leered down upon Lisa's defenceless form.

Despite her fear and exhaustion she still found the will to snarl back at her killer, snapping her teeth and shrieking in defiance.

'So this is how I finally die' Lisa thought with a sort of numb sadness as the claws prepared to strike.

"OI!"

There was a quiet 'snick' as an arrow bored into the back of the standing Hunters head and half emerged from his temple in a spurt of blood and bone.

The Hunter looked ahead in stupefied shock as its fellows, and Lisa herself, stared at the bolt protruding from its head.

It teetered right and left for a moment then fell backwards in an undignified heap as its brain finally realised it was dead.

The three remaining Hunters looked at the direction where the attack had come from, stared in confusion at the grinning, purple, and strangely dressed figure that addressed them.

"Good shot or what!" He said cheekily as he tied a small crossbow onto his belt.

The Hunters previously confused gaze slowly twisted into an expression of rage as they all growled together.

The purple creature merely swished its tail nonchalantly and smiled at its aggressors.

It was the last straw, as one the Hunters released their grip on Lisa, who quickly scrambled away and hid behind the staircase, as the Hunters advanced on the waiting figure.

As the two sides battled one question was banging on the front door of Lisa's thoughts.

'Why did he spare me again?'

'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea?' Hazard considered as he ducked a reptile's swipe and punched it in the face in retaliation.

'Well you wanted to be a hero' Unity replied as a reptile monster swiped at Hazards feet who jumped over the attack.

'Well it was the right thing to do' Hazard answered somewhat uncertainly as the bigger reptile monster floored him with a clothesline.

He yelped and quickly rolled to one side as a reptile monster jumped into the air and planted both clawed feet where his head once was, surging to his feet with the roll Hazard felt his annoyance quickly becoming white-hot anger.

A reptile came for him and Hazard ran for the dining room door an idea coming to mind.

At the pillars he raced round one of them pushing as much force into his momentum as he grasped the thick pillar digging his claws into the stone as he swung round it.

The chasing reptiles look of surprise was almost comical as Hazard spun round the pillar and planted both feet in to its face throwing it away several feet.

It shakily got to its feet still swaying and as it tried to focus its dizzy sight on him Hazard dashed forward and planted his trainer between its legs.

He knew he was gambling here as he couldn't see anything between the scaled thighs but the high-pitched shriek the reptile loosed as it fell to its knees brought a smile to his face.

It clutched itself and tried to roll away towards safety but Hazard didn't let up, quickly grasping the reptiles' head he did a vicious twist and snapped its neck.

It still had its look of surprise as it dropped to the floor lifeless.

Snarling demonically Hazard glared at the remaining two scalys, the smaller of the two glanced around at all its dead companions and decided that running was the better part of valour.

The larger reptile screamed abuse (judging by the tone of its cries) at its fleeing partner and then fixed Hazard with a hateful glare.

It was obviously considering running too judging by the glances it made towards the door but soon hate and pride won and the large monster rose up to its fullest height screaming a cry of challenge and intimidation.

Hazard conceded that it was certainly big but something else was nagging him about this creature, he glanced at its thickly muscled arm and understood what it was.

A long blackened scab ran across one side of its arm in a jagged line, and again on the other side. Hazard understood now that this was the monster he had stabbed down in the sewers yesterday.

'It heals quick' Hazard thought somewhat annoyed as he eyed the nearly regenerated wound.

'We are not the only ones who heal quickly Hazard' Unity pointed out.

The large monster had finished its posturing and charged at Hazard its claws held low and ready as it quickly closed the gap between them.

It lashed out a claw for his face and Hazard raised an arm to block hissing as his forearm stung with the impact. Not letting up the reptile shrieked and tried to slash him with its other claw that Hazard also caught in a tight grip.

Hazards smile of triumph as he believed he had contained the monster vanished as the reptile lunged forward smashing its skull into his own.

Hazard was knocked back several steps fighting to keep his balance as his vision swam and his brain rattled in his skull, he just about saw the outstretched arm swinging towards him in time to duck.

The monster flew past missing Hazards head by inches as he ducked but as it went by he smirked and remembering his first ever fight quickly sweep his tail across the rushing creatures path in a wide arc.

He grunted in pain as his tail impacted on the reptiles hard scaled legs but the sudden block and its own momentum brought it crashing to the ground with a shriek of surprise.

Quickly turning he dashed towards the stricken monster and jumped on its back his claws reaching round its neck.

The monsters eyes widened in fear as it felt Hazards iron grip around its neck but its fear lent it strength as it bunched up its legs and arms and threw itself onto its back.

Hazard gasped as all the air was forced from his lungs as the heavy weigh of the reptile crushed him into the hard marble floor. His few seconds of winded stun was enough for the reptile as it launched itself to its feet and quickly grasped Hazard by his jacket and pulled him face to face.

The monsters eyes were practically red with rage as it glared hatefully into Hazards somewhat crossed eyes; it opened its mouth and roared into his face revealing its huge fanged teeth.

Still dazed Hazard gingerly raised a claw to his face and wiped away some of the spittle from his cheeks, "Ever heard of Mints scaly?" he asked cheekily.

The reptiles slitted eyes narrowed and Hazards immediate thought was, 'Shit its really pissed now'.

Holding him tight the monster suddenly swung Hazard around dragging him off the ground and throwing him with all its might at the end of the turn, Hazard yelled as he found himself feeling a sickening sensation of flying before his journey was stopped by a very hard object.

"Ow" He muttered weakly as he fell face down beside a marble pillar.

Lisa had half emerged from her hiding place and was watching the fight with undeniable fascination.

She had watched as the purple one, 'Hazard', had shown no fear when the large male Hunter had roared and showed off its body, she had felt her breath catch as he easily caught the Hunters arms when it tried to attack.

Then winced as the Hunter head-butted him.

She had felt her heart pound faster in fear as the Hunter made to slash Hazards head off but she had applauded when he ducked the attack and then tripped the monster with that handy tail of his.

Then she watched as he climbed on top of it to snap its neck and prayed it would succeed but then that damn Hunter and thrown itself backwards trapping Hazard between it and the floor.

Now it brought them face to face and had roared terrifyingly into his face but the purple Tyrant had merely smiled (somewhat dazedly) and insulted it.

He was being held by something with enough teeth to bite his head off and he was joking with it?

Lisa would never understand the insane bravado of males but still a part of her felt approval at his lack of fear… or perhaps his control of his fear?

Unfortunately the Hunter had not been pleased and she had gasped when it had thrown Hazard across the room towards the dining room doors and more importantly the large marble pillars that stood in a row underneath the balcony.

Now Hazard lay defenceless and possibly beaten and she could see that the Hunter was savouring the moment as it stalked confidently towards the still Tyrant on the floor.

Lisa knew this was the time when she should be making a rush for the front doors, if the Hunter killed the purple one and then ate him it would give her enough time to reach her cabin in her weakened state.

'But he saved you'

Lisa winced at the accusing voice that spoke in her mind, she glanced towards Hazard who was trying weakly to fend off the Hunter.

'I didn't ask to be saved' She thought defiantly.

'But you wanted to be… you've always wanted to be'

Lisa considered this, true he had rescued her but that didn't mean she was indebted to him!

'He shouldn't have saved me, if he was smart he should of just let them kill me and carried on when they had gone' She thought angrily.

But even as she thought that she felt her insides clench and squirm with guilt… he spared her and now he had saved her.

"It's his own fault" She whispered as she watched Hazard fall back against the pillar as the Hunter punched him.

She remembered a long time ago when she and daddy had talked about such things as promises, loyalty, and compassion; (it seemed like a lifetime ago).

She had been young and was being given this speech by daddy because of the way she had been mean to the other kids at her school, because daddy was rich and she had grown up among wealth she had believed herself better then the other kids.

But daddy had scolded her and said that wealth alone does not make a good person, he had said that a truly good person would show compassion and sympathy to those lesser then him, that they would remain loyal to friends and true to their promises.

'It was so long ago' Lisa mused but now as she watched the Hunter pick up Hazard to finish him off she felt the sad and disappointed eyes of her father looking down on her and knew she had to act.

"It's the right thing to do" she said as she steeled herself, to be honest she didn't think she had the strength to defeat that Hunter as she was still regenerating but she had to try.

For Hazards and her fathers' sake she had to try.

Hazard knew he was in trouble and he cursed himself for getting into this mess.

'All for another monster who's probably ran for it' He thought angrily as he tried to break the grip of the reptile monster that held him a few inches above the ground.

The monster was glaring up at him and as Hazard watched it ran a green tongue across its lips hungrily.

'Hell no!' Hazard thought as he redoubled his struggles, he almost broke the grip when the head of the monster impacted on his skull again dazing him.

'Hazard the crossbow use it!' Unity yelled.

"Not loaded" Hazard mumbled as the Hunter opened its drooling jaws wide.

'One of the bolts! Stab it with a bolt!'

Grasping this idea Hazard quickly lowered a hand to his belt and tried to tug a crossbow bolt free but to his horror the damn thing was caught in his clothing.

'Bugger' he thought as the reptile lunged forward.

And then something powerful impacted against the side of the reptile and threw the two of them apart; the monster shrieked at it was knocked away barely keeping its balance as it stumbled.

Hazard managed to stop himself from collapsing completely and kneeled on his knees as he looked up weakly in confusion.

His eyes widened in amazement as the ragged creature that had attacked him before, and had buggered off when he had come to save it, had now placed itself between him and the green snarling monster.

The reptile mirrored Hazards look of surprise as it circled them warily but its evil leer returned when it saw how much difficulty the tentacle creature was having keeping on its feet.

Still despite the pain it was obviously feeling the rag covered figure rose to its full height (Which Hazard noticed was very tall indeed) and shrieked a cry of challenge and defiance as its still functional tentacles lashed the air and it held its manacled hands ready at its sides.

The reptile roared back and charged the creature, its body hunched low as it prepared to bowl the sadly frail figure over.

But the masked monster didn't wait but charged as well meeting the reptile head on and swinging its bound hands like a hammer towards its face.

Unfortunately the scaled monster had expected this as it ducked under the attack and slashed at the figures sides. Hazard winced as the sharp claws easily pierced the thin rags and crimson blood splattered the floor but although it must have hurt the creatures' amber eyes merely hardened as it continued to spin.

Hazard understood what it was planning as the momentum of its first attack spun the tentacle creature like a spinning top and as it swung round its bunched hands came down low like a bat aiming straight between the grinning reptiles eyes as it crouched low at its side.

The reptile shrieked in surprise a spilt second before the hands hit, then it was flying several feet black, filthy blood and teeth spraying from its mouth as it rolled across the marble floor.

The masked figure almost overbalanced as it stopped its spin and stood with legs wide apart and panting heavily in discomfort as it swayed gently.

Hazard stared at it knowing that it was seriously hurt and probably could not win this fight if that reptile continued to- damn! Hazard grimaced as the scaled monster levered itself to its feet spitting out some loose teeth and roaring in outrage.

He glanced at the tentacle creature and he saw it look back at him, for a moment their gazes met and Hazard was shocked at the emotion within those amber orbs… those surprisingly human looking eyes. It KNEW it couldn't win yet it was still going to fight… for him.

'Sod that! Nobodies dying for me!' He thought angrily as he tried to force his body to get to his feet.

Even so the anger and fear he felt didn't impress his limbs much as they felt comfortably as jelly and didn't want to move.

"Damn it move!" Hazard hissed as he rolled onto his side grumbling.

'You have not regenerated fully yet, and in your weakened state could you beat that bioweapon?' Unity asked.

"I need solutions not foolish questions! I will not let that… that person! Die for me!" Hazard hissed as he watched the monster stalk towards his swaying guardian.

He couldn't let it die, not after it had saved him, not now when he had seen true intelligence and emotion in those eyes.

Monsters did not know sacrifice, monsters did not make decisions to fight unwinnable battles, and monsters did not care!

He'd be damned if he would this creature die! Not when it seemed it was like him, a monster with a soul.

'Hazard we have more ways to fight then our claws' Unity hinted.

'What? Unity spit it out I don't have time for games!' Hazard mentally raged as he forced himself to his knees.

'Use the crossbow you idiot!'

Lisa watched as the Hunter approached trying not only to stop her legs from giving out but also to prevent her eyelids sliding shut.

She had probably lost a fair bit of blood, couple that with the wounds and beatings she was receiving and it was only a matter of time till blackout.

'Oh well I got myself into this best to see it through' she thought resignedly.

The Hunter roared and charged and Lisa prepared herself to fight as best she could when she heard a strangely familiar sound… a sound very much like 'snick'.

The Hunter screamed and stopped in mid-charge as it suddenly was sprouting a crossbow bolt from its chest, Lisa stared in surprise then glanced behind her at Hazard who was trying to quickly reload his crossbow.

He noticed her staring and shot her a grin, Lisa quickly looked away and focused on the squealing Hunter.

Bloody stupid male, had to save her and then grin at her! Who did he think he was a knight in shining armour or something!

Thus she told herself the warmth in her cheeks was embarrassment for having to be saved not that it could be anything else!

The Hunter swore as he grasped the bolt in his chest and gave it an experimental tug, the sharp pain and spurt of blood told him it would be best to keep in it for a moment.

Damn the fates they were laughing at him in their caverns deep in the earth! He had come here with six brothers intend on finding that purple bastard that had wounded him and exact sweet revenge on him.

But although searching for many hours they found nothing. Then Lo and Behold they had crossed paths with the strange tyrant girl all alone and unprotected.

He had thought the 'Dweller in the darkness' had provided him with this opportunity but it seems now that instead he was cursed!

Three brothers died to best her but he had believed it would be worth it to remove this threat to the clans and that the elders would reward them thusly.

But then that damn purple creature had appeared out of nowhere! Slaying two more brothers and then the last had run like a coward leaving him alone to face his enemy. Even so he had beaten his nemesis and had him at his mercy.

Then the girl had intervened and just when he had been about to kill her the purple one had shot at him!

He glared at the girl who still stood between him and his prey and said prey who was even now reloading his weapon.

The advantage had gone, to continue to fight would invite death and he had no intention of beginning his journey into the caverns of the dweller just yet.

He screamed a last curse at his two enemies and sprinted for the door, throwing it open and escaping into the forest setting a course for the clan tunnels.

He was beaten today, but he was not dead. They would suffer one day.

Oh yes… one day they would SUFFER…

Hazard climbed back onto his feet leaning heavily on the pillar beside him for support, as his shaking legs felt as weak as jelly.

Glancing towards the thrown open double doors that the large reptile had escaped through he wondered when they would next meet again.

'The hatred in that monsters eyes… no way is it gonna let this drop' he thought.

Inwardly groaning at having acquired a nemesis, it seemed, Hazard looked across the room at the rag wearing and tentacle-bearing creature he laid his head against the cool stone of the pillar as he watched it, and it in return watched him.

It seemed to be trying to get a measure of him as it just stared at him with its wary amber eyes and shuddered with small spasms of pain.

Ignoring its frightful appearance, ignoring the mutations growing from its back that lay weak on the floor, ignoring the skinned faces it wore Hazard just stared at its eyes replaying its actions in his head.

And then he stood up straight (wincing painfully) and asked it, "Are you ok?" with as much compassion as his sore throat could muster.

To say she was surprised was a severe understatement; something like absolute shock was more accurate.

The purple creature had such a weak and frail appearance (though her own probably wasn't that good either), leaning against the pillar with bruises and cuts covering his skin and his whole body shaking.

And his first words were 'are you ok?'

Lisa almost snorted, there had to be some other motive? Why was he showing concern, just what reasoning did he have?

His face was showing confusion as she hadn't answered but at this moment she couldn't bring herself too, strange conflicting emotions were arguing in her skull with megaphones and Lisa was too deafened to hear any of their options.

So she did what made the most sense at the moment, she reared up (hiding the pain) and hissed at the other tyrant warningly then turned on her heel and started shuffling away.

All the while a small voice in her head called her a fool and a coward but she ignored it.

She just wanted to go home and sleep.

'Ok. That's very grateful'

Hazard hadn't been afraid when the creature had did its little 'hissing show', he understood it was telling him to keep away and at the moment he was happy to do so.

'I mean I save its life and all I get is a snarl and a growl? Well next time creepy you're on your own!' Hazard silently seethed, he watched the creature stumble towards the front doors, its tentacles trailing on the floor behind it, its back bent with exhaustion and found the image very… unsettling.

"Arg!" Hazard punched himself in the side (cursing afterwards), damn it why should he care! It was obvious that the creature did not want his help!

'Perhaps it doesn't know how to accept help?' Unity wondered.

"Don't care, I'm going" Hazard muttered resentfully.

But he only managed a few steps towards the dining room before the sound of something falling made him stop.

And sigh.

And turn around and wearily watch the fallen creature.

'Its got spirit' Unity whispered as they watched the kneeling creature lever itself back to its feet and even manage another few steps before it was forced back to its knees.

Hazard just stared as it sat on its knees, blood covered and shaking as its breathing switched between deep and erratic with pain. He glanced at the blood trail it was leaving behind it and sighed as he saw its tentacles flopping about weakly as they tried to rise up into the air and take their station above their charge, yet could not find the strength.

'It won't make it back to its cabin'

'I know Unity'

'The trails it leaves and its weakness would attract predators for miles'

'I KNOW Unity!'

Looking up at where he hoped the ether was Hazard cursed whatever deity was watching and limped over to the fallen creature cursing every step of the way.

Lisa had her eyes closed and was trying to regulate her breathing with deep calm breaths as her body waved its notices of pain.

She knew that she was in a serious state. She had never been so far away from her cabin and with her body so weakened.

She laughed bitterly, and all because of that 'Hazard' creature, who probably would have helped her if she had asked.

'Yeah but you're too much a coward to ask for help'

Lisa winced at the accusing tone, 'I am not a coward! I'm just wary… besides I don't need his help!'

'Oh? Well then get up if you're so self-reliant' her inner voice mocked.

Lisa snarled and again tried to get to her feet fighting against the burning pain that scorched her body. She managed to get halfway to her feet when the pain became too great; she cried out in agony and fell to her knees defeated.

Lisa sniffed miserably as she felt hot tears build in her eyes and grinned in crazed mirth. She couldn't even find the strength to wipe the tears away…

"Could I sink any lower?" she whispered.

"Possibly but I won't comment" answered a young and amused voice.

Lisa's amber eyes flashed with surprise and she almost squeaked in shock as two strong arms curled around her mid-rift and a person kneeled behind her.

She immediately tried to struggle. Even as her limbs screamed in pain she tried to strike the stranger, fear and mortification giving her strength.

"Listen, the voice whispered soothingly, I'm not going to hurt you but I kinda decided that I'm going to help you even if that means knocking you out and treating your wounds while your unconscious"

The arms tightened their hold, but not painfully, as the stranger spoke cheerfully, "So how's about giving me a hand instead of making this difficult k?"

And then Lisa felt herself being lifted up, she considered struggling but at the moment the thought of being supported on her feet instead of laying face down on the floor was more appealing. She added what little strength she had and soon she was standing up, leaning against a tall and strong body.

She glanced across the figures chest wondering for a moment at the strange lettering. As if reading her thoughts the person chuckled, a surprisingly pleasing sound, and said "Yeah I get confused with that too but hey it still looks nice"

She looked up towards his face feeling her breath catch as she looked at the purple face… she had forgotten how nice Hazard looked up close.

What was he doing? Why was he helping her? Had she not done enough to discourage him?

Her own eyes met his golden ones and she swallowed hard, he tilted his head looking down on her gently before saying, "You don't talk much do you?"

Lisa didn't answer. She couldn't answer. This was the first time in over a decade that she had been held in arms that weren't trying to crush her, and almost her whole life since she looked up into eyes that contained caring and warmth.

She couldn't look anymore; she hung her head curling upon herself in distraught.

She had no idea what to do in a situation like this.

Hazard couldn't help but smile as the creature hung its head and curled up upon itself, it was a surprisingly cute action.

Still for the moment despite the questions and words he wanted to say such things would have to wait for now. His was in no state to be caught by a monster and forced to fight, especially if he had to protect his new found companion.

"Ok, Hazard said as he gently turned the ragged creature and himself towards the dining hall, we can't stay here it's not safe so you're gonna use me as a crutch and we're gonna limp to my hideout ok?"

The masked creature didn't answer but nodded hesitantly instead. Hazard smiled pleasantly and started walking doing his best to ignore his own sensations of pain, his charge clung to him tightly as if afraid that to let go would mean being swept away into danger.

"Easy now" Hazard murmured as the creature stumbled on its chains, he caught it before it fell and the creature quickly righted itself and continued to walk.

They reached the dining hall door and Hazard took a moment to prop the creature against a wall then take a peek inside the room, thankfully it was clear and the two continued their journey.

Once inside the constant ticking of the grandfather clock and the rustling of the creature's chains echoed in the still hall, Hazards eyes darted about the room worriedly as they slowly crossed the room.

"So, Hazard said to distract himself, um I'm Hazard by the way, we've meet before and I'm sure you tried to take my head off but that's ok! I don't hold grudges… anyway just wanted to ask what your name was by chance?" Hazard asked somewhat lamely.

The amber eyes of his companion merely glared into his own in answer then focused ahead of them, Hazard coughed to hide his embarrassment, "Sorry forgot you don't talk much… my bad".

'It's got that 'barely stopping myself from killing you let alone talk' vibe eh Hazard?' Unity chuckled.

'Shut it'

Lisa was focusing on taking one step after the other and keeping her drowsy senses as alert as possible for danger, it was better that then think about the purple tyrant currently supporting her.

Ok he was helping her fair enough and because of that she wasn't ripping his head off (and she could if she wanted to!) but in the end he was merely repaying a favour. She helped him now he was helping her, simple as that, no strings attached.

But even as she thought this she knew she was fooling herself, Hazard was trying to strike up a conversation with her for gods sake! Didn't he know how foolish he was being? She was dangerous and he was trying to talk to her… as if she were-

No. She wasn't going to go there, she wasn't going to consider that thought, such thinking was too many years dead.

Too many painful years dead.

She shook her head banishing her foolish musings (something she was doing quite often these days) and instead focused on what options were available to her.

Ok she would accept Hazards help and once she had recovered and eaten she would leave and try to minimise their interactions from that day on.

She wouldn't try to kill him again, he had earned that but she could not afford to get any deeper in this situation then she already was.

Just his presence was strange enough imagine if they started seeing each other even more!

Hunting together, eating together, talking to each other.

No she couldn't allow that to happen, she couldn't risk it she'd just have to accept his help for now and then-

Lisa lurched forward as a wave of dizziness crept up on her; she frowned as the unsettling feeling made her vision swim and her body shiver uncomfortably.

Hazard was saying something and trying to hold her up but Lisa was too confused to focus on the words, she groaned as her eyelids grew heavy and she felt her grasp on reality slipping away.

She knew what was happening, she had lost too much blood and even her viral enhanced constitution couldn't stop her from passing out.

Even the thought of being left defenceless and vulnerable in the hands of a male couldn't stop her consciousness shutting down, though she struggled franticly to prevent herself falling unconscious.

Her legs had given out and Hazard was holding her tight to prevent her slipping to the ground and was trying to talk to her without success.

Lisa last thought as the darkness covered her sight was a silent plea, 'please don't hurt me' to the male who held her in his power.

"Wake up! Please wake up freaky tentacle creature!" Hazard yelled desperately at his unresponsive charge. The amber eyes of the creature were shut tight behind the veil of faces and its body hung limp and dead in Hazards arms.

"Bloody hell…" Hazard breathed uneasily as he glanced around him for danger, bad enough being caught weak by a monster now he had the added danger of being caught carrying dead weight too!

'Guess the damage was too great Hazard' Unity said while Hazard gently laid the rag covered creature on the floor.

'I guess' he thought back wondering what to do now.

Ok first things first. Hazard carefully lowered his face closer to the veil of faces covering the creatures own, trying not to cringe at the awful sight.

Turning his head he relaxed slightly when he heard that the creature was still breathing but he doubted the sharp gasps it breathed were good.

It was clearly in a bad state and Hazard knew he had to act fast. Steeling himself he kneeled at the creature's side and carefully slide his arms under its legs and back and picked it up, releasing a small grunt in pain as the weight made his wounds ache.

He stood up swaying for a moment until he found his centre of balance then continued his journey holding the unconscious monster in his arms like a sleeping child.

Opening doors was a hassle but then having a dextrous tail solved that problem. It was a few more rooms before Hazards curiosity outgrew his pain and he began to sneak peeks at the slumbering creature in his arms.

The first thing he noticed that the creature weighted next to nothing itself, it was the chains and manacles that gave it weight, and he could see why as the creature seemed to be depressingly thin.

Glancing at its hanging legs and bare arms Hazard frowned as he began to realise that under all the dirt the skin was pink, and that the limbs were very much human. Thin and delicate with small hands and feet possessing nails not claws and certainly no growths or mutations.

Suspicion was growing in Hazards thoughts as he reached the stairway to the second floor and the corridor of mirrors; he looked down at the veil of faces the creature wore wondering now what the true face underneath really looked like.

Perhaps not as monstrous as he first believed? Perhaps… this creature was a human once?

The more he thought about it the more sense it made to him. Pink human flesh, clothing, and intelligence.

Perhaps this really is another mutated human like me!

'Just because it once may have been human does not mean it still is Hazard' Unity warned.

'Perhaps but I don't think this is the case here Unity!' Hazard hissed back, not wishing to be deterred from his train of thought.

The creature then gave a sharp gasp in pain and curled up in Hazards arms in distress, Hazard felt its body shaking and knew he had to hurry.

Putting on a burst of speed Hazard halted his musings and sprinted for his room. He would not allow this (possible) person to be taken from him.

Lisa awoke feeling herself in a strange, but not unwelcome, sense of bliss. She was refreshingly free of pain for some reason and her tired body was laying on something warm and soft that made her want to snuggle deeper into the source.

She had yet to open her eyes. Curled up in a ball and with a happy smile on her face she didn't want to spoil the paradise of numb relaxation she was in by seeing the cave of her bedroom.

No she could enjoy this for a little longer then return to reality.

As she rested she wondered why Ted wasn't in her arms; she moved her hands lazily but couldn't find him around her.

She sighed and decided he must have fallen off the bed during the night, it often happened, she'd but him back in his place on the bed when she got up.

She had barely dismissed that when she grew aware of her tentacles moving around behind her, she could feel five of them either drooping over the side of the bed or laying behind her but the sixth was moving around restlessly.

Again this wasn't unusual as her tentacles had a semi-intelligence of their own and tended to move about like dreaming dogs while Lisa rested.

But strangely she couldn't feel much of this one, she couldn't sense its actions or feel what it was thinking (well the instincts and raw emotions that were their 'thinking').

And try as she might she couldn't stop it moving.

Now that she thought about it she couldn't stop it because it had already stopped.

Somebody else was moving it…

Lisa's eyes shot open 'Somebody else is moving my tentacle!' she thought in shock.

She quickly tried to roll around and confront her assailant when a clawed hand stopped her in a gentle yet undeniable grip.

"I've just got you bandaged up so it's probably not a good idea to move" it said quietly.

Recollection returning Lisa remained still more out of confusion then anything else. Behind her Hazard, for it must be he, returning his attentions to her tentacle twining something firm and soft around her extra limb.

Lisa remembered that that tentacle was the one that had almost been cut in half by the large Hunter. Hazard was tying it back together with something and Lisa could feel the split flesh stitching back together.

She kept silent except for occasional winces as Hazard tightened the bandages, his gentle apologies relieving her pain a bit.

Hazard finished his work and she heard him sigh as he moved back, "Ok you can move now just no sudden movements ok, I don't have many bandages spare"

Somewhat hesitantly Lisa sat up her body still aching but more tolerantly now, she rested her hands on her lap looking over herself examining Hazards work while the purple tyrant sat watching her silently at the side of the bed.

She was impressed with the competent dressing on the wounds on her arms and the good bandage around her damaged tentacle but as she pawed her sides feeling linen strips criss-crossing her stomach she shot a glare at the suddenly nervous male who was backing away slightly.

"I swear I kept my hands to myself and only looked at your injuries" he said hopefully while holding his hands up pleadingly, he tried to smile winningly but it came off as more like a painful grimace.

Lisa continued to glare but after watching his nervous squirming for a few moments she snorted and returned to examining herself, she wondered what her body looked like now and her tentacles moved to the bottom of her ragged dress and took hold.

She stared at Hazard irritably until he got the message, surprisingly he blushed (making Lisa more suspicious) and turned his back mumbling apologies.

Lisa winced sorely as she lifted the dress over her head gently placing it at her side as she curiously looked over her body, she glanced at Hazard hoping to catch him peeking so she would have an excuse to attack him but the tyrant was being surprisingly noble. He was clutching his claws behind his back and staring ahead patiently while his long tail swayed to and fro across the floor.

Put out, yet secretly pleased, Lisa ran her tentacles over herself pawing the bandages and finding herself to be quite pleased with the job Hazard did… though still unsure about him having seen her unclothed.

'But he didn't do anything to me so perhaps there's some decency in him' Lisa thought as she threw her rags back over her body quickly covering herself as Hazard started fidgeting.

Lisa swung her legs round resting on the edge of the bed facing Hazard, she watched him curiously for a moment considering him. Thus far the male had done much more for her then she had ever received for decades and now she wondered what to do now, this situation was completely alien to her.

It had been so long since she had felt… grateful, to someone.

Realising Hazard was probably getting impatiently (yet too honest to just turn round, which she found herself liking) she coughed politely, or as polite as she could, to get his attention.

Hazard cursed his senses as he heard the rustling of a dress being pulled free of a (surprisingly) interesting body leaving bare skin, a soft and secret place and-

'STOP THINKING ABOUT IT!'

Hazard shut his eyes tight clenching his claws behind his back in an effort to distract himself, he knew he shouldn't be thinking about this but it was so damn hard!

Behind his closed eyelids images like a crude playback flowed across his pupils, he had brought the tentacle creature here and laid it on the bed then started searching the room for anything he could use to treat it.

The various medicines and drugs were beyond Hazards knowledge and to try one at random would probably do more harm then good so he had scrapped them. However he had found a small stash of bandages and cleaning alcohol and had quickly started working on the unconscious creature cleaning and bandaging its arms, legs and some of its tentacles.

Then he had hesitated as he realised that in order to get at the wounds on its side and chest successfully he would have to remove its ragged clothing.

And he strongly suspected the creature wouldn't be wearing any form of underwear once the dirty dress was removed.

At that point he was on two minds, literally, on what to do at this point.

Unity believed that it would be best just to get on with it and try and ignore whatever was underneath the clothing. It believed the creature would most likely be extremely mutated underneath the rags too.

Hazard agreed but even so he was worried about the creature's modesty, even if it was horrible mutated Hazard didn't have the right to just stare and judge its body. He certainly wouldn't like being naked and stared at by a total stranger.

So perhaps he could… keep his eyes closed and bandage by touch and smell alone?

To which Unity had scoffed and said how stupid that idea was. He couldn't hope to properly treat someone blindly. Would a doctor try and perform surgery on a woman blindfolded because he would have to look at her breasts?

So feeling a little chastened Hazard had carefully manoeuvred the creature into a sitting position (apologising gently when it whimpered) and began to pull its dress over its head.

Slowly the old garment had moved up the creatures body, Hazard being careful not to dislodge the veil it wore while doing so (he felt removing that and looking on its face was going to far, it obviously kept itself covered for a reason).

He had been somewhat surprised as he raised the dress at how long and delicate the creature's legs were. The curves that were slowly being revealed was making Hazard just a little bit edgy.

And when the dress had pulled back to the creature's hips revealing in all its beauty a small, cute and rounded ass Hazard had quickly slammed the dress back down over the amazing sight.

He had swallowed hard finding his throat suddenly dry as he contemplated what this meant. What this creature really was.

Because Hazard had contemplated many things about this creature, that perhaps it was once human, perhaps it was sentient and even perhaps they could be friends.

But he had never even considered it might be a girl… possibly a very attractive girl considering that small and wondrously curved ass that was hidden under the deceptive rags.

Even Unity had been shocked into silence and so Hazard had been left alone holding a GIRL in his arms ('who lets not forget has a gorgeous ass' Unity whispered in awe) and now he had to undress her!

Cause he had to… he had to do something about her wounds because he knew that the only thing keeping her alive was the virus in her cells and it was at the end of its strength unless Hazard stopped the blood loss.

But he also knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself looking, with a naked girl before him there was no way he was gonna be able to stop himself from glancing (And from glancing outright staring) at her breasts and… oh god! Her other special place too!

Hazard had to bite into his hand at this point to stop himself groaning and after punishing himself Unity had kicked him into gear, with a calming breath Hazard had continued to raise the girls dress hoping, praying! That she wouldn't wake up and take this the wrong way.

He had closed his eyes as he lifted up the dress and carefully dropped it on the floor and laid the girl on the bed, he then kneeled shakily at the side of the bed until Unity shouted at him to bloody open his eyes and get to work.

And he had opened his eyes… and both he and Unity were struck dumb by the sight before them.

The body lying on the bed before him was defiantly that of a female. Though malnourished and somewhat thin it was still curved in the right places and possessing all the right parts.

Hazard frowned as he saw that many ragged scars blemished the girls' pale, (though dirty) skin. He gently ran a claw over one shivering as he contemplated how many battles like the one before this girl had been in to amass so many.

'I'm so sorry… that I mistook you for another monster and didn't look at what you really where' Hazard thought in self-disgusted apology as he gazed at the girls closed eyes.

'Hazard you can make it up to her by cleaning her up ok?' Unity said gently.

Hazard nodded and quickly got to work dabbing at the wounds with the alcohol and dressing the cuts. Trying desperately to focus on the task at hand and not on-

Her breasts look so firm and soft… girl's nipples look so much better then guys.

Ok a bit more cloth needed here.

Her skins so soft and pale…

This wounds fine, ok Hazard focus on the next injury.

Her stomachs so flat and smooth… feels soft and warm.

Wrapping the bandage around a few times should work.

Oh shit I'm looking down, don't look down Hazard, don't look down!

Tie it here and I think this will hold… hey it worked!

Oh crap I looked down.

This tentacle needs to be tied together tightly.

Man… it looks… I can't believe… It's so alien yet so… amazing…

And I'm finished!

Hazard breathed a sigh of relief when he finished and quickly dived for the worn dress on the floor raising the girl to a sitting position gently (Shaking as his own body pressed against her soft bare skin) and tenderly covered her up again.

After that he laid her on her side away from him (cause he really shouldn't be looking at her and imagining- 'stop thinking about it!') and sat with his back against the bed holding his head in his claws while trying to calm himself down.

'Think about chairs or something Hazard cause if she wakes up and sees what's between our legs doing a salute she'll go nuts' Unity sniggered.

'Jesus Unity! Did you have to remind me of that! Just shut up ok!'

Hazard breathed deeply fighting to keep his body under his own control as certain parts of him screamed their own opinions at him or just throbbed painfully (But strangely pleasantly) to distract him.

'Bloody hell this is harder then I thought' Hazard groaned as he began to calm down.

'Speaking of hard-'

'SHUT UP UNITY!'

Hazard muttered irritably as Unity fell silent with amusement, the tyrant paused in his silent rant as something began to tap on his back.

Looking over his shoulder Hazard saw one of the girl's tentacles was moving around lazily and to his annoyance its movements were unravelling the bandage around it. Hazard sighed warily and got back to work fixing it up.

And it was around then that the girl woke up and brought him to this memory lane journey.

Hazard opened his eyes as he heard a cough behind him, he stood still uncertainly for a moment until the girl behind him coughed again irritably and he carefully turned around.

The girl-creature was sitting on the edge of his bed ('a girl on my bed!') and was looking around the room nervously as she fidgeted with her hands squeezing the hem of her dress tightly.

"Feel better?" Hazard asked concerned and the girl stared at him for a moment before her gaze returned to exploring the room. Though the tyrant saw that she gave the barest of nods to his question though she wouldn't look at him.

'Is she nervous?' He wondered.

Hazard swung his hands nervously unsure himself how to break the silence. The two occupants of the room looked everywhere but at each other and both were brainstorming desperately to think of something to do or say.

Hazard broke it first, coughing to get her attention he leaned against the metal storage chest as he gazed at her curiously.

"Listen I know that your not the same of the other creatures here, he said carefully, in fact I'm willing to bet your a lot smarter then you've let on especially considering I've seen that your-". Here Hazard stopped as he realised what he was going to say, the girl must have guessed too cause he say her bristle in anger and her amber eyes spark. He blushed and scratched his head distractedly while the girl continued to watch him though less hostile now at seeing him blush, Hazard thought quickly and tried again.

"Look we both agree this is a dangerous place and it would be best for both of us that we… work together. Ally perhaps?" he said lamely. The girl remained silent though she tilted her head slightly as if considering his words.

Hazard cursed and punched his hands together angrily at his less then perfect wording, he looked at the girl trying to fathom something in her silent eyes as he waved his hands through the air trying to structure a sentence.

"What I'm trying to say is… perhaps we could… we could be friends?" he asked quietly biting his lip in fear.

The girl remained silent but Hazard frowned as he saw something in those eyes dim, he wasn't sure what was going on but he guessed he must have said the wrong thing when the girl stood up her tentacles rising into the air.

"I don't want to fight" Hazard whispered sadly as the girl stepped forward, his words made her stop and hesitate for a moment.

To Hazards surprise a tentacle began to snake through the air towards him, he almost flinched back as it approached but something in the girls amber eyes stopped him… there was a strange sadness there but no aggression.

Despite Unity's warnings Hazard allowed the tentacle to touch his face. He shivered uncertainly as it ran over his cheek; down his neck and rested against his heart.

He stared uncomprehendingly at the girl as he mouthed a question; in response the tentacle patted his chest and quickly pulled away returning to its mistress.

"We won't fight… but we can't be allies" The girl said softly. Hazard gasped as the light, musical words reached his ears but after a few seconds of stunned silence at hearing her speak he jumped to his feet as the words sunk in.

"Why not?" he asked as she reached for the door handle, "Why can't we be allies?"

The girl opened the door and turned and fixed him with her glowing amber stare, "Because we're too different" she said. Hazard noticed that her quiet voice sounded choked with some painful emotion.

She made to walk out and Hazard stepped forward throwing his arms out to his sides in bafflement, "So that's it? You're just gonna walk away and never see each other again? After what happened, after the help I gave you you're just gonna say 'thanks now piss off!' and never talk again?" he shouted incredulously.

The amber stare hardened but Hazard was too hurt to care, "I thought I had someone in my life now… I thought I may have a friend" he whispered brokenly.

The amber eyes didn't change but the girls hands clenched tightly, "You were wrong" she hissed and with that parting remark she walked out slamming the door behind her.

Hazard remained in dazed silence as the girls words echoed in his ears, Unity whispered soothingly to him but the tyrant was too deafened by the words in his mind to hear.

He stumbled back falling onto the steel chest and sitting on the edge of it dumbly staring ahead at the closed door in silence.

After a few moments two trails of tears began to crawl down his face, the young tyrant sniffed wetly and wiped them away with a flick of his claws but as the wetness increased he soon gave up.

The silence was soon broken by ragged sobs as Hazard laid his head in his clawed hands and cried alone in the dark room.

Always alone in the darkness.

Lisa ran as soon as the door slammed behind her, the loud bang acting as a starting pistol for her legs as she raced for the stairs on course for her cabin.

And all the time Hazards soulful words echoed in her ears.

'I thought I may have a friend'

Damn that stupid fool! Why'd he have to say that! Why did he have to go and press the issue?

She hadn't attacked him and considering she saved him and let him off from unclothing her she was being very lenient. How dare he ask more of her!

'Because he doesn't want to be alone anymore… just like you really'

Lisa screamed in rage at the accusing voice in her head, swinging her bound hands at a passing wall smashing a hole in the ancient plaster.

She kept running reaching the second floor balcony in record time and skidding to a halt at the banister.

Trying to calm herself she tried to swallow the bile she felt at the back of her throat as Hazards shattered face swam before her eyes, she couldn't stop seeing his tearful gaze as her harsh words tore into him.

She shut her eyes tight shaking with emotion as she tried to stop the guilt she was feeling.

'We're too different… that's why we can't be friends' she thought in justification.

He was still young and unspoiled by this place and she was… well a hideous monster now.

Lisa hugged herself tight as she continued this train of thought, he was innocent and pure, still had humour and despite his appearance his humanity.

So what would happen to him if they started to hunt together and meet together, he would end up just as twisted and corrupted as she was by this place.

She sniffed miserably and continued walking, if he knew what was good for him he would leave this place and find other humans who weren't monsters.

'Yeah but didn't you already try that? How many days were you out in the forest before you had to turn back?' Lisa's conscience said irritably.

Lisa growled as she threw open the entrance doors to the mansion daring anything to attack her in her present mood, nothing took up the challenge so she was forced to listen to her inner voice prattle on as she stomped through the woods.

'Besides how long do you think he will survive without your help?'

"I'm not his babysitter, he can take care of himself" Lisa hissed.

'Well he'll have to certainly treat his own wounds alone as you didn't even offer to do that for him, even though he helped you without question'

"I never asked for his help!"

'But he gave you it anyway, surely that deserves some reward?'

"He undressed me" Lisa spat, shaking as old memories stirred behind her eyes.

'Yes he did. But did he touch you? Did he molest you? No. He dressed your wounds and treated you with dignity which is more then you have given him!'

Lisa stopped as the voices disgusted words rang in her mind, she actually hadn't thought about that… she had forgotten he was hurt as well.

But to go back-

'I can't'

'Why?'

'… Because I'm afraid'

Her conscience laughed bitterly, 'more like a coward Lisa'.

The tyrant girl reeled as if struck by a physical blow at her inner voices mocking words. She hadn't wanted to consider it but perhaps it was true… she was a coward.

Hazard helped her at the expense of his own safety and well being and she threw it back in his face. She tried again to justify it to herself but her arguments felt hollow now and the sick feeling in her stomach grew stronger as she realised the full weight of her folly.

"What have I done?" She whispered horrified with herself.

This is what had become of her, she had survived for so long and now finally she meets another intelligent being who only wants to be friends she does the metaphorical equivalent of tearing out his heart and stamping on it.

What has she become? She was worse then the mindless monsters and even the man with the sunglasses.

They were mere animals and would threaten your live but not your heart or emotions, (Well the not the physical heart that's quite a delicacy). Even the dark man didn't make you believe you could trust him or even like him before he hurt you, he was cruel but at least you knew that straight away and couldn't be fooled into false security.

But she had done that to Hazard, he said (or began to say) that he knew she was once a human because he had seen her naked body. Though she still felt uneasy about that, it had given him hope that perhaps she was something more then all the other monsters of this place.

'Well you sure proved him wrong, what with the whole 'one wolf' thing' her conscience said dryly.

'Hazard!' Lisa turned and began to head back towards the mansion when uncertainty made her stop. What if he didn't want to accept her apology? What if she had gone too far and he just slammed the door in her face.

She couldn't face that; it would be too much…

She quivered indecisively for a moment glancing between the mansion and her cabin thinking quickly while in the trees above her a few crows watched her with curiosity.

Lisa perked up, laughing in joy, as an idea came to her. Dashing as fast as her chains would allow to her cabin she prayed that Hazard would accept her apology.

The crows watched her go, cawing to themselves in discussion, then eyed the girl with interest as a few minutes later she returned clutching something against her chest and racing for the mansion.

The birds took flight following her. They could smell a good drama starting and anything was better then dropping stones on zombies' heads to see if they were noticed.

Hazard lay on his bed curled upon himself and sniffling sadly as he buried his head in his arms. He sobbed piteously wondering how he could have been such an idiot. How could he have let himself be used and tricked by that miserable creature?

'Don't let this get to you Hazard, she obviously has some serious issues in her head' Unity whispered gently.

'That's no excuse, I helped her the least she could have said is thank you but no instead it's a brush aside and leave me alone' Hazard thought hurtfully.

'Perhaps it's been so long she doesn't know how to say thank you?'

'I DON'T CARE! I THOUGHT MAYBE SHE COULD BE A FRIEND! INSTEAD I GET THE COLD SHOULDER AND FOR WHAT? BECAUSE I CARED? BECAUSE I WAS THE ONLY THING HERE THAT WANTED TO HELP HER IT'S I WHO MUST SUFFER!'

Hazard thumped his fists into the bed, tearing at the mattress and snarling in scorched anger. After awhile he stopped curling up into a ball again and chuckling bitterly, "I'm such a fucking idiot…"

Unity remained silent for a few moments before quietly saying, 'You still have us Hazard… we won't leave you'

Hazard snorted and rolled onto his back staring at the cobweb-strung ceiling, "Forgive me Unity, that helps but I wish I had another more physical friend" he said trying to keep his tone non-surly.

'We will accept that as long as you accept that you can get over this, that there will be others to meet besides her'

Hazard closed his eyes considering this, "But how long until we meet any others Unity?" Hazard asked miserably.

'We do not know, but when we do hopefully they will not look at just our skin'

"They better cause I think my purple colours quite nice actually" Hazard said with mock indignation feeling himself smile afterwards.

Unity hummed in satisfaction, 'That's it Hazard keep your chin up and look to the future cause remember what we promised together?'

"What's that?"

'We are not going to die here'

Hazard grinned hiccuping slightly in amusement, "Your damn right".

He opened his eyes again feeling a little better now, true he still felt his heart aching with the pain of rejection but it was dulled a little now.

"I'm glad I have you Unity" Hazard said shakily.

'You will always have us Hazard'

Hazard sighed as he sat up wincing at his general soreness, "You know, he said wearily, all I've done for the last few hours is be constantly sore and bruised"

'You will heal, however perhaps you should clean yourself up a little and maybe take some herbs'

Hazard nodded considering his options; he still had a few bandages left (Not many though, he used most of them on that ungrateful brat) and he had those blue herbs still.

'But will they help? For all I know the blue ones could be poisonous and only the red and green are actually helpful' Hazard thought uncertainly.

Hazard stood up and limped over to the medical shelves pawing through them inquisitively for anything useful but soon gave up. The drugs and bottles probably had many wonderful and beneficial properties but as far as Hazard was concerned they might as well be cough medicine considering the gibberish that was scrawled on their yellowed tags.

"Looks like its bandages and a kip eh Unity?"

'Unfortunately so'

Hazard grumbled to himself, cursing the fates, the monsters of this place, and especially that girl as he undressed wincing as he saw the long scabbed scratches and dark bruises on his body.

He had thrown his clothes back in the chest and started rooting around for the bandages when a knock sounded on his door.

Freezing in surprise Hazard remained still listening intently but no other knocks sounded, he frowned as his hearing could just make out the noise of something hurrying away from the door quietly.

'This is unusual' he mused as he carefully turned around and approached his door. He doubted very much a zombie would knock politely on a door then run off, nor a lizard monster either.

Curiosity aroused Hazard armed his crossbow and holding his hand on the door handle he steeled himself and threw it open.

And what met his burning gaze was nothing.

Hazard poked his head outside and down the passageway frowning in confusion when nothing but silence and stillness greeted him. He took a few steps outside his room but when nothing happened he started to feel a bit silly standing around like a dork in his pants.

'Really strange' Unity muttered.

Confused, and somewhat annoyed, Hazard returned to his room muttering in aggravation when his feet bumped into something at his doorway.

Glancing down Hazard stared in surprise at the cardboard box that was placed outside his door, glancing around him Hazard picked it up and poking his claws inside it curiously.

The box contained more bandages and even a few green herbs (freshly picked judging by the dirt around their roots), Hazard smiled in delight as he saw a bottle of water inside too and even a large slice of meat!

He breathed deep of the meats smell feeling himself start to drool then licked his lips as he held the bottle of water up for inspection. Now looking at the water he suddenly felt acutely thirsty.

Digging deeper into the box for more goodies he almost dropped it in shock as his questing claws unearthed something very surprising.

He squealed in glee as he pulled out his very own knife from the box, holding it up before his amazed eyes as he turned it around he felt his heart sing with the return of his treasured possession.

Even unity was amazed, but quickly overcame it to ask, 'But who gave us this?'

Hazard had been considering this too, he dug deeper for some clue, and sure enough he soon found a small scrap of paper, yellowed with age and dirt.

Holding it up to the light Hazard stared at the hurried scrawl of writing on the paper, he read it three times feeling a wide smile grow across his lips as he practically vibrated with happiness.

'It says 'I'm Sorry' Hazard' Unity whispered in amazement.

'Yes it does!' Hazard thought beaming happily.

Looking around him Hazard still couldn't detect anything but he was aware that the very air felt edgy and expectant.

Smiling widely Hazard yelled, "THANK YOU!" grinning blissfully. He didn't get a response but he didn't expect one so wasn't all that worried, not now.

Still practically levitating with happiness Hazard returned to his room believing that this was a perfect end to a day and things could only get better now.

Because he had a lot of plans for tomorrow, and the future had become suddenly very much brighter.

And just around the corner Lisa sighed in relief and quietly slipped away back to her cabin. And all the way she didn't once stop smiling under her veil of faces.

The future seemed so much brighter now.

End Act 2.

_Bloody hell this took god knows how long to finish… I can't even feel my fingers now oww._

_Anyway hopefully you have enjoyed this act and as before any reviews, be they good or bad, are welcome and I look forward to your opinons and any ideas you may have._

_So thanks again and I'll get started on the next act as soon as I have time._

_Bye!_


	4. Act 3

**God this has taken awhile but here it is! The next act for my Hazard and Lisa romance is finally here. HURRAY ME!**

**Ok I'll get straight down to business so you can get to reading.**

**Firstly feedback to reviewers! (Haven't done this for awhile so forgive me)**

**Waruzska- thank you first for your very elegant and well written (and very informative) review. Firstly no I don't take the review as a flame and even if it was meant to be a flame I'd consider it a review as it was so nice J**

**Firstly no idea who SD Perry is but if I am considered even a little like (as in as good) as a published writer then that's a great complement. Also never read his books but wanna get some so could you tell me what are you're favourite resi-evil books for me to check out please?**

**Secondly I'm glad you like the characters as that is the thing that worried me the most, peoples reactions to Hazard and Lisa and whether they would view the characters as realistic or even likeable. As for the story to be honest I only have a vague idea how this is going and sorta writing the story as it goes along. (Shrugs) that's usually how I do things… also why it's taken so long as I'm constantly going over the pages again and again wondering 'is this ok? Will people like it? Etc Etc'.**

**Thirdly yes I doubt myself that the Tyrants and the humans will get along at first but then Hazard and Lisa are really nice once you get to know them and I never once believed that Chris or Jill are the type to only look at someone at face value (or tentacle value) so they should work together, at least to survive.**

**Lastly thanks for you're lovely review and hope to get another J**

**Ps: hey you write and probably speak English better then me pal! I only speak Chavlish.**

**Tinkies- hey if last chapter was a lot of reading then get ready for this Act! (Dy36 winces as he holds up blistered fingers owie!) anyway thanks a lot for your review Tinkie J**

**Yeah Lisa and Hazard will become good friends but still not sure 'how' close a friend they should become so if you, (And other reviews) have any thoughts on them (And Jill and Chris for that matter) then please say them.**

**Oh and hope you find this act awesome too J**

**Ok now the warnings! (They gotta be done for the kiddies, 'WON'T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?')**

**lots of gore and violence, and as this a resident evil fanfic expect it to be very detailed and dark :p**

**Nudity. Detailed descriptions of certain human anatomy's and while there is no sexual acts there is certainly some impure thoughts from a certain character. But nothing wrong with that I say or most of the human population would burn in hell so NYAH!**

**some swearing, while I don't go overboard on swearing anymore (on writing at least I'm very vocal in the real world) there is enough to make people wince.**

**Oh and lastly this is an 'M' (incase you didn't notice) so really nobody underage should be reading this, though if they don't read of violence here they can just look at the news or out their front window, especially in England grr…**

**Ok enough political rambling warnings over enjoy the fic!**

Act 3: A friendship is forged and dark designs are made.

Chapter 12.

The colour of cruelty is now Hazel.

Night had fallen over the city of Raccoon and in the darkness its towering buildings and human sprawl was nothing more then shadows mixing with those of the forests that surrounded it.

But against the darkness around them human defiance shone like a beacon, in this case by the thousands of lights that filled the city pushing out against the night providing the people of the city with a aura of security as their eyes continued to function within their homes.

But night and darkness laughed at their efforts, for from above the city was a mere spark of light surrounded by darkness and within the night humans could only imagine what horrific nightmares inhabited the shadows.

But for two humans: a cop tarnished by life but maintaining a good heart, and a scoundrel who couldn't hide his own despite his efforts, they were to discover that not all evil hides in the shadows of the world.

Some evil rests within the shadows of the soul.

"You better be right about this Hank"

"Its just over the next Hill Chris I'm sure"

"Funny cause you said that about the last three!"

Chris Redfield stuffed his hand in his pocket to warm it against the cold, cursing under his breath as Hank scrambled up the hill in front of him.

For the last few hours the git had been dragging Chris across the Raccoon countryside in the fricking cold and night and he was ready to throw a serious fit any second now.

He sighed and looked up at the distant twinkling stars above him. He supposed the night sky was sorta nice, especially as he rarely got to see the stars with the brightness of the city. But at the moment his thoughts kept drifting back to a pair of twinkling star-blue eyes despite the situation.

Jill… his friend, his co-worker, his unending source of fantasy and adoration. Lately he had found himself becoming more and more drawn to her and it was becoming difficult not to do something drastic.

Chris had dated many girls… and slept with a fair few too. And although he had never truly loved any of them he had honest affection and his actions had always been sincere. He had never cheated but neither did his relationships last long before it got dull and he moved on.

But with Jill he felt something truly unique when it came to her. And the thought of messing up their friendship, or worse, hurting her by making some mistake was more then he could handle.

'Man I'm like a bloody teenager with these nerves' Chris thought ruefully, shaking his head he followed after Hank, maybe beating the little guy up when he took 'another' wrong turn with distract his thoughts.

"Chris! Chris over here!" Hank yelled while trying to whisper at the same time.

Holding back his growl of annoyance Chris climbed the hill reached the crest where Hank lay crouched on the ground.

When he saw what Hank had spotted he quickly dived for the ground beside the other man taking in what he was seeing.

Before them over the ridge the Raccoon river stretched in a lazy curve across their vision, its length splitting the grasslands in two though in the darkness it was hard not to see the land as one whole and only the faint moonlight on the flowing water revealed its presence.

And on the other side was the base his informant had sworn was there shining dimly in the night as the tall spotlights around its perimeter illuminated its surroundings.

Chris stared across the few yards at the fenced outpost wondering what its purpose here truly was, judging by the dark figures that prowled the area he guessed it wasn't a Cub Scout camp.

"See, told ya it was here" Hank whispered with a trace of smugness.

Chris merely grunted in response as he shifted his pack off his shoulders and rummaged inside. Pulling out a pair of binoculars he took a good look at the supposed 'government' outpost.

'Well whoever they are they don't look like your run of the mill crooks' Chris thought in understatement as he focused on one of the patrolling guards. The black clothing he wore, expensive-looking goggles ('probably N-V') and mean looking assault rifle were all pricey enough to be out of a mere gangsters reach.

The way he moved and the confident aura about the masked figure also clearly said he was a well-trained professional, probably private security or a mercenary.

"Question is, Chris murmured half to himself, why does this place need such protection"

Hank squinted hard as tried to make out what the buildings within the compound were, truth be told he was curious himself about what this was all about.

"So what now?" he asked, worrying a little about the heavy armament those distant figures carried.

Chris lowered the binoculars and gave his companion a large grin, the action almost satanic with the rest of his face shadowed.

"We sneak in of course"

Hank gulped hard as Chris crawled forward over the ridge towards the scrub below, grabbing his foot to stop him Hank hissed, "Are you nuts? Look at the size of those guns"

Chris glanced back at him, "Something's up here Hank and I wouldn't be a much of a cop if I didn't get to the bottom of it," he said firmly.

Hanks' eyes raced between the compound and Chris, "Can't you just show them your badge or something?" he whined.

Chris rolled his eyes, "I don't have a warrant on me Hank and even if I did I don't think these guys would let me in, not without a trip into the river afterwards anyway"

"Well how about waiting until you do have one and then coming back with more backup?"

"Yeah like they'd still be anything interesting there once I got a warrant, that's if I could even get one if these guys are connected high up" Chris argued.

Hanks eyes were wide with fear now, "Chris please…"

Chris sighed and turning round laid a hand on Hanks shoulder, "You'll be fine Hank, if worse comes to worse I'll get you out even if I have to stay"

"Besides you know I'm not smart enough to figure anything technical in there so I'll need your expert help for finding clues and stuff" Chris lightly joked.

Hank looked down towards the ground for a moment avoiding Chris's eyes, then releasing a breath and nodding his head weakly.

"Good thing you're paying me well… ish" Hank said glaring at Chris without venom.

Chris clapped him on the shoulder almost knocking him down, "That's the spirit. Ok lets go"

Chris took the lead crawling on his belly through the scrub towards the river intent on, hopefully, crossing it undetected and bypassing the fence. Behind him Hank followed praying like never before that he wouldn't die.

And that if he did Chris be smitten most harshly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The guard had been staring at their position for the last minute now.

Chris swore at whatever bastard had trained that silent figure, for even in the dark and almost completely submerged in the river, ('which is fucking cold!' Chris seethed) the guard had stopped in his patrol along the riverside.

He should have carried on past the large centre building then inwards to the other end of the compound and another structure that Chris assumed must be a barracks of some kind.

But instead the guy was just standing there, not moving, not shooting, not even calling for backup just staring at them.

'But its not like he can see us. Even with N-V we'd be melded with the background at this distance… I'm right, right?'

He was certain he and Hank hadn't given away their position so he was at a loss to why the guard had stopped, perhaps just instinct made him aware to something unusual in his surroundings.

Most people would scoff at the thought but Chris had been a cop long enough to know such 'sixth senses' did exist in some fashion. Hell he himself had felt unease with a person or place before for no understandable reason and been right to be wary later.

'A distraction of some kind is what we need… but I can't exactly chuck a rock with him already suspicious of my position' Chris inwardly fumed, even so his hand dug into the river bed finding a smooth pebble just in case.

However the next moment had Chris wondering if the powers that be had their eye on them cause he could hear something familiar approaching the region.

The guard too had heard it and his gaze switched to the sky as a steady 'Whoop-whoop-whoop' of a helicopter grew in intensity, he reached for his headset listening to someone then with a last stare at the river dashed off to the right.

Chris breathed a sigh of relief and motioned Hank to follow as he carried on wading through the river, it was once he was close to the other shore that the helicopter flew into sight and took position above the compound.

"Down" Chris hissed and he and Hank almost submerged into the shallows again, only the area above their noses out of the water, as the action in the compound became hectic.

Chris watched curiously as a heli-pad lit up on the far right end of the compound and a ring of guards took station around the perimeter, 'obviously someone important is coming judging by the honour guard' Chris mused.

The helicopter steadily lowered landing gracefully on the pad, Chris noted that the helicopter itself was heavily armoured and sleek, and again, looking far too advanced to be anything but military.

His suspicions were confirmed when a group of white robed people exited the helicopter, 'Scientists' Chris thought with intrigue.

They immediately began to carry some cases and boxes from the helicopter and what could be the leader strode over to the ring of guards, ignoring his labouring comrades.

One of the guards stepped forward, (Chris noticed it was the same one that had been watching them) and words were exchanged between the two. Chris wished he had brought a microphone to hear what they were saying but judging by their motions and the look of excitement on the lead scientists' face it was something important.

There was a lot of hand waving in the direction of the forest and Raccoon city, the scientist appeared to ask something and the guard nodded and pointed towards a small warehouse shelter behind the main building, Chris made a note to check that out.

The scientist finished the conversation and strode ahead towards the main building ignoring the guards who hurried after him, the head soldier barked at the remaining researchers who quickly hurried after their leader carrying the cases and equipment between them.

Chris remained motionless until the action had died down and the guards had returned to their posts, to his delight the suspicious git who had been patrolling the river had gone inside with the head coat so the area was now clear.

"Lets go" Chris whispered and he and Hank dashed forward crouched low and came to a stop against the wall of the main building, thankfully there wasn't much in the way of windows and the metal sheeting and thick pipes of the wall were probably very sound resistant.

"Where now?" Hank queried a faint tremor in his voice.

Chris frowned as he considered this, closing his eyes he recalled the image of the site from across the river trying to plan a course.

The compound was a basic square fence with a large central building, that he and hank were currently huddled against, a barracks behind and to the left and a heli-port now revealed to its right.

To the far left was a guard-post and gate, behind and to the right of the central building was the warehouse that the head guy had pointed to and Chris believed the best place to investigate would be there.

"Ok we're gonna check out that warehouse down there" Chris whispered while watching the guard hanging around the heliport.

"The one that the head coat asked about?"

Chris grinned despite himself, "Glad you're keeping track"

"The weasel sees all Chris, you should know that by now" Hank answered smugly.

Chris merely shook his head in amusement as he watched the guard; he waited until the man had wandered to the far end of the compound starting to observe the fence before moving out.

Hugging close to the wall and ducked down low Chris and Hank skirted along the centre building, taking a right and following its length towards the warehouse, in the darkness Chris hoped that they'd be unseen but considering the gear the security had speed was their best option.

Chris was tempted to stop and glance inside the building they were creeping along to see what was going on, but considering the structure had only a single door and not one window trying to peek inside would be a big mistake.

"Guard!" Hank hissed and he and Chris froze against the building as another security man came round the corner between them and the warehouse.

Chris's hand tightened on his gun but only as a precaution, the guard was out in the open looking straight ahead to the right but all he had to do was turn again and he'd be looking right at Chris and his partner.

Chris judged the distance between them and believed he could charge the guy and knock him out before he could raise the alarm but what if another guard was just around the corner? Or the man put up too much of a fight for Chris to finish it quickly?

He reversed his grip on his gun holding it like a club when the guard raised a hand to his earpiece listening to someone. Chris held his breath in anticipation but just when he thought he'd have to attack the man turned towards the warehouse and went inside oblivious to the men behind him.

"Too close" Chris whispered after releasing his breath, behind him he heard Hank shuffle about untensing himself.

Chris crept forward to the edge of the structure and peeked round the corner, he could see the barracks a few yards away but other then distant chatter nothing much was happening there.

Glancing back at the heliport he saw the guard was sitting against the concrete 'square' of the landing pad and having a drink, judging by his relaxed posture he didn't suspect anything so Chris judged the time right.

"Lets go" He said and sprinted across the open ground towards the warehouse door, Hank following close behind as Chris reached the building and stopped by the door the guard had used.

Up close the warehouse was typical of its kind, a simple rectangular shape, metal sheeting and a long 'pyramid' roof, a set of tall double doors and a single man-sized one to its right.

'Hope there's something of interest in here that's worth all this' Chris thought as he waved Hank inside and followed after quietly shutting the door behind him.

Once inside Chris had to squint due to the thick darkness inside but after a few seconds began to see what was inside, and what he saw brought a confused scowl to his face.

Dozens upon dozens of boxes and crates filled the room in various stacks, some covered in black sheeting others piled high on metal scaffolds. The crates were mainly wood but were spattered with metal cases that looked quite sturdy.

But what had Chris's attention was the symbol printed on every object in the room, the symbol of a large octagon with four red and four white portions in an ordered pattern.

"Umbrella?" Chris whispered in perplexity.

Chris had heard of the company, everyone in Raccoon City had. They were a pharmaceutical corporation that had branches all over the world, from small chemists on the streets to huge factories in Europe.

Chris himself had bought god knows how many painkillers and bandages after a hard nights out and a drinks-fest, hell the hospitals and the medical service of the R.P.D all had contracts with Umbrella for their medicines and drugs.

'So what has this place got to do with Umbrella? Why have they got a base hidden out here?'

These questions and many more raced in his head but as Chris thought that the best solution was to explore the boxes and find out more something else began to exert itself in his mind.

Being a cop for so long, and an ex-soldier had given Chris a good instinctual sense for danger and at the moment his nerves were yelling that something was wrong.

And as he pondered this it suddenly became clear.

A guard had come in here less then a minute before them.

So why was it so quiet?

"Hank wait here" Chris murmured before drawing his gun and stepping forward into the shadows.

"Chris?" Hank hissed but his partner didn't answer and in the next second the cop had vanished completely leaving Hank alone in the dim light and huddled at the entrance.

Hank cursed under his breath and glanced around the gloomy room nervously. The silence and isolation started to get to the weasel and he fidgeted anxiously while awaiting Chris's return.

He twitched as he heard a footfall close by and he squinted into the dark trying to make out some sense of the shadows, "Chris?" he whispered.

No verbal answer was given; instead a clear 'click' was heard of a bullet settling into its chamber and Hanks heart pounded in terror as he froze.

A figure stepped into Hanks visual range and he gulped hard as the guard pointed a pistol at him, the mans black gear and clothing making him difficult to observe as he stalked closer to his prey, gun barrel unwavering.

The mans head cocked to one side without a sound as he considered Hank, the sharp green lens of his goggles revealing nothing as he stared into Hanks terrified eyes.

"What are you doing here?" the man asked his voice cold and slightly muffled behind his mask.

"Got lost, er… car broke down, don't suppose you know where I can get a spare tyre?" Hank blurted his voice practically a squeak as he stared at the gun barrel pointed at his head.

The man didn't answer and Hank couldn't shake off the horrifying suspicion that the guard was weighing the pros and cons of shooting him right now.

Fortunately for the weasel the man never got to make a decision, another shadow emerged behind the guard and Hank saw the figure swing something.

The guard folded with the barest of grunts as Chris's gun handle smashed into the back of his head, falling to the floor as Chris leap forward and kicked the gun from the mans nerveless grip while changing his grip on his own weapon.

"You alright?" Chris asked as he flipped the man over with a foot while keeping his gun trained on him.

"Am I alright? If you call having a trained killer pointing a gun at my head alright then I'm great, I'm just fan-bloody-tastic!" Hank yelled shrilly once he found the strength to speak.

Once sure the man was unconscious Chris grinned at his fuming cohort, "Hey you were handling it well back here, the car thing had me convinced mate"

Hank bristled as Chris winked at him cheekily, "Forgive me for not being able to think of something more convincing Chris, I'm not bloody James Bond!"

"Too right Hank, he's a lot better dressed then you for starters"

Chris held back his laughter as Hank gave him the finger and turned his attention back to the guard, up close he could see his gear was as professional as he assumed and he made sure to strip him of anything offensive and place it out of reach.

Chris frowned as he picked up the mans pistol finding another Umbrella logo stamped onto the barrel, since when did Umbrella make weapons?

'Another mystery to be solved' He thought as he hissed at Hank to help him drag the unconscious merc into cover then turned his attention back to the warehouse.

"Ok mate lets split up and try and find something worthwhile here ok?"

"Which is just about everything here" Hank answered as he approached a crate examining the Umbrella logos and 'Biohazard' symbols with interest.

"Something that could relate to the murders is of most importance ok" Chris reminded him before starting his own search.

"Wait!"

Chris stopped and turned towards Hank, scowling at his nervous look, "What?"

"What do I do if I run into another guard?" the small man asked fearfully.

Chris rolled his eyes and turning on his heel strode off remarking over his shoulder, "Just scream for help Hank" as he did.

Rounding a set of scaffolds he couldn't quite hear Hanks reply but judging by the tone it wasn't very pleasant.

Focusing on his surroundings the S.T.A.R.S officer got to work.

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'This certainly is unusual stuff to have' Chris thought as he levered open another crate finding a multitude of syringes, chrome equipment and toughened vials inside.

He had pawed through three crates so far finding stuff from the mundane, like lab equipment, to the mysterious, such as exotic weaponry and powerful tranquillisers.

Still as strange as his findings were at the moment it could all still be just standard stuff for a company like Umbrella to have. While strange to have weaponry it could be explained and the guards outside could merely be expensive, and deadly, security for valuable equipment.

Yet something was wrong here, he didn't know yet what it was but he was certain this place, and indeed Umbrella, were tied in with his case.

"Chris! Chris over here!" Hanks' voice called in a loud whisper.

Chris hurried over to the source and found his friend leaning over a large metal capsule, at seeing Chris approach the weasel grinned and patted the device smugly.

"How's this for worthwhile?"

"What is it?" Chris asked as he stepped beside Hank, looking over the capsule he was oddly reminded of 'Forever young'. The capsule with its metal casing, misted glass viewpoint, various tubing and attached computer console looked a lot like some kind of cryogenic unit.

"Duh it's obviously some kind of cryogenic capsule, (Chris smiled self-approvingly) and it's a good thing you brought me cause I doubt you could do this" Hank said as he placed himself next to the capsules attached keyboard and screen and started punching at keys.

Chris tuned out as Hank started typing in commands; computers had never been Chris's strong point.

'Jill's always been better at it then me' He thought affectionately.

Shaking his head to clear the pink haze he focused on the glass view plate of the capsule, it was heavily misted and frozen over but the shadow inside definitely meant someone or 'something' was inside.

"Crap!"

Hank scowled at the screen his hands feverishly typing but judging by the 'access denied' covering the screen his hacking wasn't going well.

"Problem?" Chris asked idly after a minute of frenzied typing.

Hank shot him a glare before returning to his task, "Whoever made this computers encryption program is a serious bastard, its proving hard to crack"

"I thought you were good at this computer stuff Hank" Chris pointed out accusingly.

Hank scowled for a moment then gave a weary sigh, "As I said you're lucky to have me as I've got partial access here" Hank said while opening a file on screen.

"Only partial?"

"Umbrella's obviously a powerful and rich company that can afford complex and bitchy password systems," Hank said distractedly as he read the file on screen, after a few moments he gave a low whistle of wonder.

"Well that's… something interesting all right"

Chris sidled next to him reading over the weasels' shoulder interestedly and adding his own whistle of awe as his eyes ran over the words.

What was printed in black and white pixels on screen was certainly interesting, the talk of increasing security for the base due to some 'outbreak' was cause for suspicion as was the order not to open this capsule without 'level A' fire support most intriguing.

"Subject underwent viral mutation last week at 6:47 p.m. after field test. Subject deemed 'compatible' with operation and transported to outpost within a day of evolution. Doctor Birkin will oversee the procedure, render him all available assistance." Hank read out as the two men's eyes followed the text.

"What the hell does all that mean?" the thief muttered.

"No idea but is that all there is?" Chris responded with haste.

Hank quickly checked the file but came up dry, "Nope that page of text is all that's on here, I can only assume its basic instructions for anyone who comes into contact with this capsule to have"

Chris nodded thinking over this information, obviously his suspicions were correct and Umbrella was definitely up to something… but what?

Viral mutations didn't sound good at all and made Chris immediately think of biological weapons or some kind of killer disease. As for this 'Dr Birkin' Chris would bet a dollar the head coat outside had been the man mentioned in the report.

What got to him though was this talk of a 'subject' in the capsule. Was it a man? A woman? Should Chris try and open the capsule and find out and perhaps rescue someone who was in serious trouble?

Some warning instinct told Chris that would be a bad idea trying to break open the sealed cryo-capsule, the report had clearly said to keep it shut unless well armed and Chris was going to heed that warning this time.

His thoughts were derailed as Hank began to scrabble in his own pack and quickly placed something in the terminals disk drive, "What are you doing?" Chris asked as Hank began to mess about with the keyboard.

The weasel merely raised an eyebrow and said, "Making a copy duh".

Chris blinked then waved him to continue, while he did so the marksman looked around the warehouse wondering what to do now. Should they keep looking or try and escape now with the stuff they had before pushing their luck?

Another thought popped into Chris's head, "Hey why would someone in cryogenics be here? I thought only the rich could go in these things and that they stay in special facilities?" Chris asked with a frown.

Hank scowled as he watched the file download, it was taking an annoyingly long time, "Its not a cryogenic capsule in the usual sense Chris" he answered irritably.

"Its not?"

"No! This thing is sorta like a portable life support machine. Whatever item is in there is cooled to slow down metabolic rate and bacterial growth as well as sustain the item via the machines"

"The item?" Chris noted.

"Yeah these things are usually much smaller and used to transport organs about, Umbrella made it awhile ago to move stuff around countries without deteriorating the organ" Hank muttered distractedly.

"There's a person in there though Hank" Chris pointed out, tapping on the fogged image on the glass as he spoke.

"Yeah that's were it gets weird"

Chris gave this some thought, why would they want to put a person in one of these things if it wasn't true cryogenics? Was the person being kept alive because they were fatally ill? If that was the case why here, in this warehouse in the middle-of-nowhere, and not at a hospital?

However such thoughts were immediately cancelled when he saw something that brought a cringe to his face.

"Hank" He said quietly.

"Yeah I'm almost done Chris"

"You see that little red light over there?" Chris continued, pointing to a space on the ceiling.

The other man looked up from the screen and with a quizzical look followed Chris outstretched hand, his eyes widened at what he saw, "Oh shit…"

The camera was almost completely invisible hidden in the shadows of the ceiling but the flickering red pinpoint that revealed its location glared down at them like a malicious eye.

Chris stepped to the side and around the capsule and cursed when the light moved to follow him, 'Why didn't I think to look for things like them straight away?' Chris chastened himself.

His eyes flickered towards the doorway they had entered from and the moving shadows at its base, "Hank get out" Chris hissed as he rushed for the door.

The door flew open, silhouetted in the doorframe was another black clothed and masked mercenary, his green eyepieces scanning the room, and in a second focused on Chris's charging figure, behind him another guard readied his weapon.

The mans gun raised towards Chris but putting on an extra burst of speed for thrust the STARS officer lunged for the ground and slide towards and under the guards firing sight as he did.

Drawing a tazer from his jacket, one of the many that Jill collected, he swung a foot at the guards leg knocking him down to one knee and then jabbed the stun gun into the mans chest in the next instant.

The guard screamed, the noise muffled but still high-pitched behind his mask, and fell towards Chris who swiftly smashed both feet into his body throwing him against the mercenary behind him.

The others split-second of grappling with his unconscious partner gave Chris the time to jump to his feet and rush forward barging against the remaining guard and throwing them both to the floor.

Chris slammed the mans gun against the ground forcing a grunt of pain from him as he did yet he didn't relinquish his grip, raising a fist Chris punched the man hard in the face with a snarl of anger.

Unfortunately for Chris the guards headgear gave him some protection and recovering quickly from the blow the man used it to his advantage, surging up he smashed his head against Chris's with devastating results.

Chris yelled in agony as the heavy metal cut and bruised his face as well as causing enough disorientation to make Chris relax his hold on the struggling man beneath him. Without hesitation the guard kicked Chris off of him and rolled up and away coming to his knees with his gun pointed towards Chris.

Chris drew his own gun as the mercenary aimed his and the two men remained motionless in a deadly stand-off, both focused on the other and waiting for any sign of aggression yet hesitant to act himself. "What are you doing here?" the guard demanded in a gruff voice his pistol unwavering in its aim.

"Just out for a night stroll mate" Chris lightly replied.

"You picked one hell of a place for a walk," the guard said with scorn.

"You have an unusual line of work yourself buddy, just what is so important here that a medical company needs hired guns?" Chris queried, his eyes watching the guard carefully for his reaction.

The man didn't so much as twitch, "You may find out yourself firsthand 'mate'" he answered ominously.

His gun started to lower and Chris tensed in readiness for any tricks but the guards' attention was no longer focused on him, instead his green-covered gaze was switching elsewhere.

To a point just over Chris's shoulder.

The STARS officer realised a fraction of a second too late what was happening when a gun pressed against the back of his skull.

"Shit" he whispered and he braced himself for a sudden and painful death as the cold metal of a gun barrel scorched his skin.

Fortunately death was not to be tonight as a hand materialised at his side and a voice ordered him to hand over his weapon.

"I'll want a receipt for that" Chris muttered as he placed his pistol in the gloved hand that was quickly yanked back once the gun was taken.

"Get up!" Chris's captor barked and he carefully picked himself up watching warily as the guard behind him stepped round to his side but keeping a safe distance between them.

'What's up with that guy? I gave him one hell of a jolt with Jill's stunner and he isn't even twitching! He shouldn't be awake for another few hours at least' Chris thought as his eyes followed the previously unconscious mercenary.

"Doctor I have the subject under control, what are my orders?" The first guard asked into his earpiece while his partner kept Chris under watch.

Chris couldn't hear what the 'doctors' reply was but he was ready to make a lunge, however suicidal, at his captors if it looked like his execution was coming.

As if sensing his thoughts the guard who had been talking to the doctor waved his arm towards the barracks at the other end of the yard, "You're in luck Redfield, Doctor Birkin wishes to talk with you"

Chris didn't answer and followed the mans lead as the other shadowed Chris's steps, at the moment his thoughts were abuzz with curiosity, who was this doctor? How did he know his name? Why did he want to see him? And most importantly had Hank safely escaped and hopefully on his way to getting Barry and the cavalry?

'Just hope I don't end up floating downstream by dawn' Chris thought grimly as he drew closer to the barracks.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chris stretched and shrugged his shoulders to work out the tightness, the chair he was sitting in wasn't the most comfortable of furniture.

'But then prisoners don't usually get luxuries' Chris thought as he gazed around his 'cell'.

After entering the barracks he had found himself in a 'living room' of sorts, a simple rectangular room with the barest of furniture and six doors spaced around the room that led to individual bedrooms.

Another guard had been inside though this one was unmasked unlike his fellows, his face was clean-shaven and free of scars yet his ice blue eyes spoke volumes about his competence.

With a simple brown hairstyle and no other markings made his face unremarkable and unlikely to be remembered, something Chris believed to be purposeful considering his line of business. His body was bulky and heavily built with muscles, visible even under the gear and padded clothing he wore, but Chris got the feeling the man was nowhere near as slow as his weight suggested.

The same man had told him to sit at a straight-forward table and chair set-up and the cop had carefully sat down as the others talked amongst themselves though the armed man never took his eyes, or gun barrel, off Chris.

Chris only got snatches of the conversation but what little he heard made him feel they were surprised at his presence here and even his knowledge of this place.

While immediately he supposed if this was a secret base of some kind they'd be surprised at finding a strange man in their warehouse but for some reason Chris felt there was more to it then that.

As strange as it seemed his job as a STARS and status within alpha team was most talked about and it was this what was confusing (or worrying?) them.

Blue eyes cocked his head suddenly listening to a voice on his com, he then barked at the others telling them to stand to attention.

'Is this Birkin gonna see me now' Chris wondered as he watched the doorway with interest.

A second later a man stepped into the room and glanced around briefly before his eyes settled on Chris, his face sprouted a pleasant grin and he stepped forward, lab coat fluttering behind him, as he stretched a hand towards Chris.

"Chris Redfield! A pleasure to meet you I'm sure. I am Professor William Birkin," The strange man said cheerfully.

Chris took the offered hand and shook it while taking in the, seemingly, friendly scientist. William was of average height, slightly shorter then Chris but only by and inch or two, and quite thin, not to the point of anorexia but more of a few dinners missed in the heat of research.

His face was pleasant enough, young and with a nice smile but with a few more shadows under the eyes then would be normal for someone his age. His hair was a messy mat of brown fur and further heightened his aura of endless science and little self-care.

What got Chris was the mans eyes, they were a bright hazel and sparkled with more intensity then a normal mans and if Chris had to guess he would bet there was perhaps a touch of insanity, ('and definitely megalomania' Chris thought) in the mind behind those eyes.

"A pleasure to meet you too Professor, Chris replied politely (hey it never hurts), to be honest a friendly welcome was the last thing I was expecting" Chris jerked his head towards the closest guard for emphasis.

William cringed slightly, "I apologise if our security were a little rough with you Mr Redfield they are only doing what they are paid to do" he said apologetically. He then turned to the unmasked guard and ordered him and his men to holster their weapons, "I'm sure I am safe in the presence of a police officer sergeant," he said brightly as the ice-eyed soldier reluctantly told his men to disarm.

The scientist then took a seat beside Chris, stippling his fingers and appraising him in a curious matter; "Now Mr Redfield… wait do you mind if I call you Chris? Redfield is so impersonal?" He asked earnestly.

"Chris is fine as long as I can call you William professor" Chris said with a nod.

"Great! Now Chris I suppose it will be best if I get straight to the point… may I ask why you are here, sneaking into our 'supposedly' secret bases?"

Chris wondered how much he should reveal, certainly nothing about Hank that's for sure, "The recent murders in the city brought me here"

"Indeed? You hoped to find some clue here?" William asked in surprise.

Though his tone was mildly curious Chris could tell by the mans eyes he was hungry for information, "The attacks originated in the city suburbs close to here, so investigating the surrounding countryside seemed like a good idea"

Now Chris was the one giving William a piercing look, "Maybe it wasn't what I was looking for but I'm still very curious at the moment" he said with obvious question.

"Curiosity is something I can relate to Chris, as a scientist it is one of the major driving forces behind my research, the younger man mused. "But if you had wanted to find out if the murderers were hiding here, or had ever been here, you could have knocked at the gate and asked"

Chris raised an eyebrow in amusement, "Most people I've dealt with wouldn't be inclined to let me in and offer tea if I called at their door and started asking such questions William"

William smiling indulgently, "Quite. Still to answer your unspoken question no we have nothing to do with the incident and we are, in fact, very worried about an attack on ourselves". He waved towards his guards who stood silent and watching, especially the blue eyed Sergeant, "Hence the extra security we have had to employ here," he said with an annoyed sigh.

"Then may I ask what you are doing here William? And perhaps if you know anything that could help me seeing as you have been here for awhile" Chris said seriously.

"Sorry if it's intruding of me but I am a cop after all. Nosiness is one of our failings unfortunately," he added with a shrug.

"Come now Chris! Umbrella is only a pharmaceutical company, I assure you all our activities are legal and might I add produce a lot of profit and work for many people in the world. Surely our guarded nature is no reason for suspicion from STARS?" William said with mock indignation.

Chris tilted his head, his gaze thoughtful, "Most pharmaceutical companies do not hide their labs, neither do they conduct unknown research in hidden places… nor do they manufacture weapons" Chris said quietly as he met Williams gaze resolutely.

William shrugged, not in the least worried by Chris accusation "Umbrella is very rich and thus we can afford to produce and equip our security forces with the best arms they need. Would you want STARS to be an less prepared?"

"But what need does a drugs company have for such arms, Chris glanced at the guards around them, or for such trained men if they conduct simple legitimate research?"

"As I said Umbrella has powerful rivals and you'd be quite surprised at the lengths some of our enemies would go to in order to steal our work. Our need for protection is entirely justified" William said with a reasonable tone. However his eyes were narrowing in warning, 'you are beginning to try my patience' was the hazel slits silent message.

However Chris wasn't intimidated, "Nevertheless I would like to see for myself what makes your need for security so great" he said calmly.

William smiled again, but now it was as cold as ice, "You realise without a warrant I am within my full rights to deny you this?" he said silkily.

Chris nodded, conceding that point, "You are 'William'. But perhaps it would best for us all if we sort this out now then me coming back with all my annoying paperwork, search teams and disrupting your work"

The two men stared at each other, Chris trying to read the other mans now cold eyes. To be honest he hoped the guy would say no so he could come back with Barry and armed backup, this place was freaking him out big time and he knew it'd take ages for him to untense later.

But as threatened as he felt he knew he couldn't let this drop, whether now or later he had to check this place out. Something was definitely not right here…

"Well, William quietly said, I suppose your argument isn't without some merits"

The scientist quickly reached into his pocket and came out with a tape recorder, he smiled as he clicked it on and held it between them.

"Would you be as good as to state your agreement that you Chris Redfield will not reveal anything you see here to any interested party's for either money, or any other reward, without facing severe consequences as we, Umbrella, sue you for every dime you ever gain from present to future?" William said with a smirk, his face all childish mischief as he watched Chris intently.

'Except for his eyes' Chris thought grimly, "You understand that anything I see, whether now or later, I can't withhold from my department if it is of some use to our case" Chris said with narrowing eyes.

"Oh don't worry, we'll get in touch with the R.P.D later and get a 'gag' order on them. No this is just for you" William said with a bright smile.

"Of course anything that can help your investigation we wouldn't dream of censoring we would just like some… discretion from you when it comes to our private researches" William added placatingly.

Chris scowled for a moment as he thought this over, after a few seconds hesitation he sighed and recited his agreement. 'I'm not interested in bureaucratic crap, but if there's anything here that can help my case I'm not gonna pass up the chance to find it'

"Very good Chris" William said brightly as he pocketed the recorder. He sprang up so suddenly that his chair screeched and Chris had to fight not to flinch at the noise.

"Well then shall we begin our tour Chris?" William began to stride off without waiting for an answer, already at the doors before Chris had sprang from his chair and hurried after the scientist.

Chris came to a halt outside the barracks were William had been standing waiting for him, the scientist raised an eyebrow in amusement at Chris's slightly annoyed glare as the three guards followed silently behind the officer.

"You men return to your posts, sergeant you may stay with us if you wish" William told the guards. The two masked men quickly strode off into the dark but the blue eyed sergeant stayed, his eyes still fixed silently on Chris.

Chris wondered what the deal was with the strange man. If his gaze was angry, for Chris having hurt his men, or even protective, with him being so close to William, he could deal with that. The blank neutral look was all together new and a little unsettling.

He decided to take a gamble, "Before we go any further I'd like my gun back" he said, trying to sound calm and not nervous at being unarmed.

William cocked his eyebrow again, "Nervous are you officer?" he said with a smirk, obviously sensing Chris's discomfort.

Chris allowed his eyes to narrow into a glare for a few moments, "I don't like knowing whether I'm a prisoner or not" he growled pointedly.

Williams smirk became a grin but he didn't say anything more, he nodded towards blue eyes and without a fuss Chris's pistol was handed back to him.

Chris held in his sigh of relief as his hand closed around the cold metal of his weapon, he quickly holstered his gun but made sure to keep the gun loose… just in case.

"Follow me please" William asked and then briskly walked towards the central building, lab coat billowing behind him due to the cold wind as he started to fade into the darkness.

Chris strode after him his thoughts alight with curiosity as they approached the plain door into the large structure. Whatever was going on here he bet it was something big, and perhaps even tied in with his case.

'Though I'm probably gonna get the run-around in here but I might still find out something' he thought wryly as William opened the door for him.

"After you Chris"

Chris eyed him momentarily then stepped through the doorway, senses alert for anything.

"Gah!" he winced as bright light filled his vision and he threw his arm before his eyes, his hand twitched close to his gun yet he didn't draw it… yet.

"My apologies Chris, the lab specimens need to be kept in light for long duration's and it can be a bit disorienting when you first go inside" Williams slightly mocking voice said close to Chris.

The officer warily lowered his arm blinking rapidly as he adapted to the bright light, after a few moments his vision returned and he could at last make out the room within.

The inside of the building was hollow, with no other floors except the ground and rows of bright lights hanging from the ceiling. Around the walls were several booths with either labs or computer rooms within them, dozens of white-robed scientists moved between the areas, their tread purposeful and engrossed in their work.

But what was most intriguing to Chris's eyes were the rows upon rows of plants that filled the centre, the rows colour coded into lines of small blue, green and red plants.

"You're making drugs?" Chris said in confusion as he watched men move between the rows, writing on clipboards and occasional measuring or removing the odd leaf.

'This certainly wasn't what I was expecting' Chris thought in annoyance as William appeared beside him.

"Umbrella IS a pharmaceutical company Chris, were you hoping for something more criminal?" William said with a light chuckle.

"I was hoping for something more interesting to be honest"

William looked hurt, "Chris for a man of science these simple plants are one of the greatest discoveries of the decade!" His eyes returned to the plants now filled with pride, "They are one of my most precious studies"

Chris eyed him sceptically; "These plants are the big reason for a hidden base William?"

"More then a reason Chris. These plants are the next generation cure for almost any form of physical injury," William said with conviction as he stepped into the rows, motioning Chris to follow as he did.

"These plants were discovered a few years ago by an expedition sent here to investigate an old legend of Raccoon City. Though faded into myth it was rumoured that centuries ago the tribes who lived here had much greater vitality and healing due to a plant that grew in the mountains"

William's hazel eyes met Chris's as he smirked; "Who would have thought that the legend would actually be true and such a plant was actually found by those scientists"

He waved his hands at the rows of plants, "Only now, thanks to the advancements of science, have we been able to unlock the true potential of these plants and create a whole new range of medical treatment for various ailments" William said proudly.

Chris noticed the look in the young scientists' eyes, despite his likely annoyance at having him here William was nevertheless eager to boast about the research being conducted here. Like a parent showing off an exceptional child to another at a school fair.

"I assume there is some reason to the different colours? Different properties or more concentration of whatever it is that heals people?" Chris hazarded a guess.

"Very astute Chris! You have the makings of a scientist after all" William beamed. "Yes you are quite right the different colours represent three different strains of the same organism that grow in the mountain ranges. Each with their own special effects"

William carefully picked up a potted green herb, one of several pots that were separate from the main trenches of herbs, and held it up before Chris.

"This green herb is the most potential of the strains, which I will demonstrate in a manner I'm sure you will understand" William said with a slight smirk.

"I notice you were injured in your scuffle with our guards Chris" William noted without a trace of sympathy.

"Its nothing" Chris replied curtly. In truth the bruise across his cheek and forehead was sore as hell but he wasn't gonna mention that here.

"On the contrary it looks to be very sore, the swelling of the facial tissue would make even simple speech uncomfortable" William responded with only a slight trace a maliciousness in his eyes.

The plant was extended towards Chris like an offering, "Would you like to try a leaf?" William asked with shining innocence.

Chris scowled, he didn't trust William at all and there was a good chance this thing might be poisonous. 'But then if they wanted me dead they could have done it up to a dozen times by now' Chris thought and with a sigh carefully plucked a leaf, watching William suspiciously as he did, and placed it in his mouth.

Immediately a strong taste of mint flooded his taste buds and he scowled harder at the attentive scientist, "I hate mint" Chris muttered as he quickly chewed and swallowed.

William nodded, though whether in agreement or because Chris had swallowed he wasn't sure. "The effects usually take place in a minute or two, depending on the subjects mass and several other factors" William said carefully.

Chris glanced around impatiently as he waited for something to happen, the stares of the guards, several scientists and Williams manic eyes were making him nervous.

He blinked rapidly as a strange feeling over took him, he wobbled slightly as his thoughts became light and his head began to feel like it was stuffed with cotton.

"What the hell! You-you've drugged me!" Chris slurred as his body tingled and his limbs felt sluggish. His hand scratched at his gun and William quickly stepped forward and pulled his hand away from the weapon.

"Nothing to be afraid of Chris, some subjects feel the effects more strongly the first time they ingest the plant material. The dizziness only lasts a few moments" William said soothingly.

Chris rubbed at his eyes and clenched his fists tight as the room spun but, as William had said, after a few moments the fuzziness began to fade and reality stopped taking a roller coaster ride.

"You could have warned me about that" Chris growled as he glared at the smiling scientist.

William shrugged, "I made the assumption that as a police officer you'd be more resistant to the effects given your active lifestyle. Clearly I was wrong," William said, smirking openly and obviously holding in his laughter.

Chris shook his head and blinked the gunk from his eyes. That incident reminded him too much of his youth and the shit he took when he was younger, that was before the army of course and now he never touched that crap.

'Until now that is' He thought wryly and said, "It's strong stuff but you couldn't sell it in the supermarkets with effects that strong"

William raised a finger in exclamation, "Ah but that was the pure, and heavily toxic, wild specimen. The medicine we have made has been filtered of all the side-effects leaving only the positive healing benefits"

"Toxic? Healing?" Chris repeated wearily.

"Do you not feel it Chris? The pain in your face has gone! And even as I watch the bruise on your cheek is already beginning to fade" William said smugly.

Chris quickly pawed his face in astonishment, he couldn't believe it but William was right! His face felt a little numb but also completely free of pain yet still retained its normal sense of touch.

"That's… some good sh-stuff" Chris whispered in awe.

"Everything we make is good… 'stuff' Chris" William said with a smile as he put the potted plant back.

"You mentioned toxins?" Chris asked, once again suspicious.

"I did didn't I? Well its nothing serious just a few chemicals in the plants tissue that causes the drugged state, but the final product has those imbalances carefully removed" William said off-handily.

Chris couldn't help but eye the plants around him with a greater degree of respect. If they all acted in the same manner then perhaps the dream of a 'cure-all' wonder drug wasn't completely impossible?

"And what do the red and blue do?" Chris asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

William smiled, obviously pleased with Chris's new-found interest, "The blue herb is a powerful anti-poison and toxin drug that has been able to either cure, or heavily dampen, the effects of whatever harmful substance it is introduced to"

He pointed out to the red, "The red herb is the most curious however. Alone it has no effects whatsoever, neither harming nor aiding the creature that ingests it"

He picked up one of the red pots and Chris examined the red plant inquisitively as it was held up for inspection, the bright fiery colour of its leaves and stem were attractive enough he supposed.

"I'm sensing a 'but' William" Chris said knowingly.

"But when combined in a mixture with the green it seems to triple the healing properties of the plant far beyond what its quantity would be capable off. Even better when all three are placed together in a mixture it creates a powerful agent that can not only heal grievous wounds but repel the most virulent of toxins" William said with glee, his voice sounding awed by his own words.

Chris raised an eyebrow in interest, his own astonishment better contained then Williams, "It sounds like quite a breakthrough," he said slowly.

"Come with me Chris and I'll show you something even greater" William said enticingly as he placed the pot back and quickly hurried off down the rows. Chris followed and soon found himself in one of the booths that surrounded the central 'crops'

His eyes darted around quickly, mindful of the silent sergeant who shadowed his steps as he took in his surroundings. The booths around him were a hodgepodge mix of large computer terminals, strange machines that filled the rooms, files, tables, X-rays, equipment, and all manner of stuff that was beyond Chris's understanding yet instinctively his interest was pi-

'Wait a minute… X-rays?'

Chris quickly glanced at the bright blue-ish glowing sheets that covered one of the walls of the booth next to this one. The scans showed a skeletal arm and hand as well as a few shots of a person's skull, all pined up and with small postal notes clipped to them.

Chris eyed the X-ray of a hand noting that the fingers seemed deformed somehow. It was only as he squinted carefully that he saw that the bones that ended in fingernails had instead become great claws that sprouted from the digits.

"A patient of ours Chris" Williams voice said quietly from beside him. Chris turned and examined William carefully, his expression kept neutral, as William gazed sadly at the X-rays.

"He came to us for help with his… affliction. He was born heavily deformed and had been turned away by many 'respected' doctors and scientists before coming to us, he had heard of our experiments and interest in genetic research and had asked for our help" William explained solemnly.

"Is he by any chance the person locked in that cryo-tube thing in your warehouse?" Chris asked sharply, his question almost an accusation as he locked his gaze with the other man.

Williams smile had once again gone cold as before, and a faint twitch was the only sign of the violent rant he was probably itching to unleash. "Yes it is he Chris and I'd have you know that it could be considered harassment to spy on a man about to undergo an operation" William said snidely.

"It could be considered criminal to lock a man up in a warehouse" Chris replied just as harshly.

Williams nostrils flared as he took a sudden sharp breath of anger, his eyes narrowed and he practically hissed the words, "How dare you make such an accusation?" The man is being kept in that 'cryo-tube thing', as you so quaintly put it, for his own health considering he almost died in a previous operation. And forgive me if we don't have first-class housing for him here but I consider saving his life more important then where he sleeps!"

William panted slightly as he finished his outburst and then looked away as if the sight of Chris would start him up again, Chris had to say he was suitably shocked.

"I didn't mean to offend" Chris said lamely, at a loss of what else to say.

William didn't answer as he began to punch in a key code into a small safe set in the wall, Chris could tell that the scientist was purposely ignoring him.

The STARS officer was, for a lack of a better word, flummoxed. Williams's outburst had been so full of hurt, both professional and personal, that Chris' instincts and intuition were tied up in knots.

He had straight away suspected that something was wrong here, and with William, but after that outburst he was torn between his suspicious nature, that was still sniffing the air and smelling a rat, and feeling guilt for being suspicious of a man who seemed to care so much about the life of his patient.

The safe opened with a beep, William reached inside, and gently removed something from the safe, slamming the thing shut afterwards as he turned towards Chris.

His eyes were filled with zeal as he held out what looked a lot like an aerosol can to Chris, "This, he yelled righteously, is the big, 'suspicious' secret here Mr Redfield!"

Chris blinked at the change of his naming but decided to ignore it, he leaned forward examining the long green coloured tube with polite interest.

"First Aid Spray?" Chris read out in part confusion, part amusement.

Unfortunately William picked up on the trace amusement, "The label and idea may be amusing Chris but I assure you the product is nothing to laugh about" William hissed.

"Sergeant!" He barked, his eyes fixed angrily on Chris's as the muscled officer stepped soundlessly forward.

"Sir?"

"Your knife please sergeant" William asked politely as he held out his hand, his eyes watching Chris carefully.

Chris merely gazed back blankly, allowing nothing to show on his face as the low 'shing' of a knife being removed was heard and a very sharp combat knife was handed to the scientist.

"And now sergeant your hand please"

Now Chris allowed some perplexity to show as he looked down at the hand being offered to William, just what was going on here?

William tsked and eyed the sergeant in mild annoyance, "Your glove sergeant" he sighed.

Chris finally realised what was happening when the soldier removed his glove and again offered his hand, as William stretched the knife across the mans palm Chris watched intently as well as keeping his right hand free to draw his weapon.

The sharp blade of the combat knife cut effortlessly through the sergeants flesh, blood pooled in the mans palm and thick rivets flowed over his fingers as a miniature crimson rainfall pattered against the metal floor.

A testament to the blue eyed warrior was that he didn't so much as flinch when the blade cut his flesh, nor did he cry out or even wince. His features remained blank, a clear indicator of his pain resistance.

"Now watch Chris" William said in a hushed voice as he raised the 'first aid spray' can over the mans bleeding hand.

And sprayed hard for a full three seconds.

Chris watched intently but he couldn't see much due to the thick blood that covered the mans hand. After a few seconds William asked, "Do you feel anything sergeant?"

"The pain is fading sir" the man replied calmly.

'And here I was thinking he didn't even feel pain' Chris though wryly.

William snapped his fingers and held out his hand to one of the scientists who were watching them a few meters back, the man jumped slightly as Williams attention came to him then quickly rushed off to another booth.

'He looked more then a little nervous' Chris thought as he saw the fear in the man's movements.

The scientist quickly returned with a handful of wet wipes and gave then to William who immediately began to carefully dab at the sergeants' hand cleaning up the blood.

"Look closely Chris"

Chris did so and as every wipe drew away more blood from the sergeants' palm he began to see what should be impossible.

"That's not possible" Chris whispered in amazement as the blue-eyed soldiers completely healed palm was revealed. The deep cut was gone and only a light scar that traced across his palm was the only sign of it having been there, the wound stitched together in seconds what nature should have taken days.

Williams's eyes were filled with triumph, "Science can overcome anything in time Chris" he said smugly, "And with this, he added, Umbrella will secure its position in the annuals of history for centuries"

"How can it do that?" Chris asked in genuine awe.

"With the three species combined together in a mixture, and our own special ingredients too, the whole sample is carefully filtered of all its impurities and has the beneficial effects greatly heightened. Then it is treated and turned into a liquid vapour that can easily be put into any container we wish"

William held up the miracle product itself, "In this case an 'aerosol' can"

Chris eyed the can for a few more seconds before his detective traits kicked in again, "And can this 'first-aid spray' cure genetic disorders as well? Because I find that to be beyond even this drugs abilities"

"Are you again referring to out patient Chris?" William snapped.

Chris raised an eyebrow at Williams tone, "It had occurred to me yes, but if this spray could help that man, or woman? Then surely it can help a lot of people in the world," he said reasonably.

William relaxed slightly at Chris's tone, "Yes it could but unfortunately even the healing abilities of the spray can't correct genetic damage" he answered regretfully.

He waved a hand at the X-rays, "However it will allow our patient to survive far greater surgery then normal due to his condition, the healing power of the spray allowing us to conduct much more intrusive repair to his body without risking his life too greatly"

Chris nodded taking this in then carefully asked, "What is the patients name anyway? It just seems very 'impersonal' to just refer to him, or her, as just a patient" Chris said, quoting Williams previous wording when they first met.

Chris hoped his polite wording would work but Williams was unwaveringly steadfast, "I'm sorry Chris but I can't reveal the name of the patient. I'm afraid that when it comes to patient confidentiality the law is very clear" his words were regretful but Chris knew William was pleased at snubbing him.

Chris nodded seemingly accepting Williams explanation but inside he was fuming, he knew he couldn't force the scientist to reveal who the person was to him. In this case the law was working against its enforcers and Chris would have to find a way around it at a later date.

William made a show of examining his watch and then gave a heavy sigh, "I'm afraid the tour must come to an end Chris. The hour is very late and while I'd love to show you around more I really must insist that we be allowed to continue our work in peace"

"After all, he added, I'm sure your team is anxiously awaiting your return and whatever new information you have, and if this case is to be solved I wouldn't want to delay STARS any more then necessary"

Chris smiled back just as falsely, "You've been more then helpful William, I learnt a lot here and saw some very intriguing things that I'm sure will have me thinking about them for days to come" he said sweetly.

"Indeed" William replied dryly.

The scientist then nodded towards the blue eyed sergeant, "Sergeant Collins will escort you back to the gate Chris, hopefully next time you want to snoop about you'll ask for an appointment instead of breaking in"

"I'll be sure to ask for you personally professor, you made an excellent tour guide" Chris replied good-naturally. He followed the sergeants' lead as the man asked him to follow and wondered if the next time they met would William be as restrained as he was now?

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Chris reached the gate without event and certainly without much said between him and his 'escort'. The other man wasn't even looking at Chris but the STARS officer could tell he was being carefully scrutinised nonetheless.

'Whatever. I'm not gonna try anything and neither will he, I've got too much to think about to start fights now' Chris thought distractedly.

"We're here Mr Redfield" Sergeant Collins said calmly as they stopped at the checkpoint, a simple watch post and mechanised bar at the only opening in the wire fence.

"Right" Chris muttered as he checked himself over making sure he had everything before leaving. He eyed the bulky sergeant for a moment, "Well it was fun and all, we gotta do this again sometime" he said with only slight sarcasm.

His words had little affect on the man, "Please ask for an appointment next time Mr Redfield instead of breaking in and assaulting my men"

And now at last his eyes finally showed a tinge of anger, "Next time we might not recognise you before opening fire" he said lightly but the threat clear in his words.

"I'll be sure to ask at the reception next time," Chris replied dryly. Turning on his heel he carelessly vaulted over the metal bar that blocked his path and began to stride off, effectively dismissing the soldier behind him.

"Mr Redfield!"

Chris inwardly cursed and reluctantly stopped walking and turned, observing William as he ran after him clearing the bar with surprising grace and coming to a panting halt before Chris.

"Whew! Need to get in better shape" the scientist said with humour as he took deep breathes of air.

'Funny you move better then I'd expect a scientist to' Chris thought. Not in the least bit convinced by Williams act.

"Is something wrong William? Did I forget to sign out or something?" the officer asked wearily.

William grinned and reaching into his robe held out something familiar to Chris, "A token of good faith Chris" he said in answer to Chris' enquiring look.

"Faith in what?" Chris asked cautiously as he eyed the first aid spray William was offering him as if it was a bomb, 'hey it could be'.

"Why a symbol of Umbrellas faith in you Chris! We want this case solved just as much as you and to show how serious we are we are giving you this to help protect you" William said energetically.

Chris carefully took the offered container and jiggled it experimentally, "I'm honoured that the powers that be would give me such a gift," he said after he was sure it wasn't going to blow up, 'At least not yet'

William had a strange glint in those, only slightly, sane eyes of his, "We don't want you getting hurt Chris, a STARS officer is too valuable to be lost right now" he almost whispered the words so hushed was his voice.

Chris tilted his head slightly frowning at William, "Funny it was my impression STARS was just as much cannon fodder as the rest of the police force" he said with obvious question.

"But STARS have been ordered to solve this crisis have they not? And the quicker you do so Chris the faster we here can all breathe a sigh of relief. Believe me this is purely in the motive of self-interest Chris" he stated reasonably.

"And here I was worried this was a clumsy come on" Chris said amusedly, making a joke of the conversation while inside he was picking it apart for clues.

"Unfortunately I'm married Chris so you'll have to find someone else to satisfy you, William responded with a smirk, then, goodbye Chris Redfield"

Chris gave a mock salute and walked off away from the base and following the dirt path back into the night, all the while keeping his pace nonchalant and ignoring the eyes boring into his back.

He felt he'd have to walk a mile before he'd stop feeling the hard hazel eyes of William staring after him, thankfully the darkness quickly welcomed him into its embrace and after a dozen meters or so he felt sure he had disappeared.

He glanced back at the base seeing the distant figures of William and Sergeant Collins conversing with each other by the gate, he watched carefully but couldn't deduce much from this distance nor even guess at their words.

'Probably talking about me I bet… I wonder how long until someone tries to kill me?' Chris wondered curiously, not at all ruffled by the possible threat.

Thinking of such a thing though made him hold up the spray can in his hand and examine it more closely, due to the darkness he couldn't see much just the black shape of the can.

'Shod this I ain't ignoring it' Chris inwardly grumbled and he sat down in the bushes to hide him from any onlookers in the distant camp and flicked on a small penlight.

The can was simple enough, just the name of the item in bold lettering and various slogans marking it as Umbrellas property, but what made Chris snort in half-amusement, half-irritation, was the lack of any information on the ingredients what was in the spray contained within.

'Bet it would be the same with most of their stuff not just this' Chris though wryly.

Tracing the small, but bright, light over the can he frowned as he noticed the can was slightly longer then the one he had previously seen. Running his fingers around the bottom he scratched and pawed it inquisitively for a few moments until he found what he was looking for.

He grinned as his nails caught in a slight grove that curled around the can's stem and found that an extra inch had been added at the bottom no doubt containing something.

'But what?' Chris mused as he sniffed at it and pressed an ear to the bottom. He couldn't smell any scents normally associated with explosives and nor was the bottom warm or making noise.

'If not a bomb then probably some sort of electronic equipment, probably listening device or tracker' he reasoned. Satisfied with his analysis he decided to get Joseph or Kenneth to check it out once back at the precinct.

He sneaked a final peek at the compound, seeing that William and the sergeant had left the gate, and wondered if Hank had gotten out ok.

'I couldn't have mentioned him to William so for all I know he could still be inside tied to a chair and being question' Chris thought with a wince.

'Or huddled behind a crate praying for salvation' Still regardless the cop decided to do a sweep of the area and if he couldn't find his companion then hunker down here and wait for a sign. Oh and also to call Jill or Barry and ask them to check the city for him while he waited here.

Thus decided Chris rose from his crouched position and took a few steps into the darkness.

And that was when the shadowy figure leapt out of the bushes before him.

Chris reacted on instinct, grabbing the body and throwing it behind him with a simple toss he rolled over the stunned person coming to rest with his knees on the mans chest and gun drawn.

"Chris it's me!"

Chris growled in annoyance, "Dammit Ha- man say something next time instead of jumping out of bushes" Chris said as he holstered his weapon and helped his friend up. 'Almost said his name out loud then, be careful here Chris' the cop mentally berated himself as Hank cursed painfully.

"I'll be sure to keep it in mind" Hank replied a little ruefully as he rubbed at his sore chest and stretched his back.

"You got out ok then?" Chris asked eyeing the other man with relief.

"Yeah it wasn't a problem. You did a good job of getting their attention mate" Hank replied, "To be honest I thought I'd have to be telling your team that you were probably dead by now" Hank said a little reproachfully.

Chris shook his head, "I thought that too but instead I got the grand tour and got to meet with the head coat of that place"

Hank cocked his head in interest and Chris continued, "A scientist named William Birkin showed me what's going on in there, some kind of research on the plant life here and its medical uses. It's the real deal too"

Hank scratched at his nose in thought, "Funny, I got the impression a lot more was going on there then botanical research," Hank said with a frown.

Chris nodded, "Yeah me too. But it all seemed to be legit" Chris lied easily, all too aware that this talk could be being listened to by more ears then four.

Hank raised an eyebrow in surprise and eyed Chris oddly; "You sure man? I was certain more was going on there," he said in confusion.

"Trust me it's a dead end there" Chris said smoothly but all the while his eyes were drilling into Hanks, 'I can't talk right now Hank so please understand mate what I'm trying to say' he inwardly prayed.

Hank must have picked up the message cause his eyes narrowed in suspicion, Chris nodded with a slight jerk of his head and Hank scowled in understanding.

"Well guess I was wrong then" Hank said carefully.

"Hey better luck next time mate?" Chris said with fake humour.

Hank patted himself down and searched his pockets then held up a silver disk, "Well guess we both came away with sod all then Chris, but maybe we'll find something else out later" he said purposefully as he shook the disk slightly.

Chris delicately took the offered CD and stowed it away on his person; he then glanced around him deciding it was time to get going.

"Ok Hank I think its time for a drink, let's get out of here now" Chris said cheerily, mouthing the words 'Tell you later' afterwards.

Hank nodded then his face split into a real grin, "First thing you've said tonight that makes sense Chris"

"Watch it" Chris answered without menace.

The two men turned to go but before Hank stepped away he found Chris's hand on his shoulder halting him, "One moment" Chris said quietly.

The weasel frowned at his companion in confusion as Chris appeared to be collecting his thoughts, "I wanna say thanks, tonight probably would have gone much worse without you… so cheers for the support"

Hank shrugged easily, "Hey anything for a friend right?"

Chris shook his head again, "You're a lot braver then you give yourself credit for mate…perhaps you should get out of that desk job and do real work more often?" Chris said in amusement while throwing in a little lie too.

The criminal snorted in disgust, "Screw that Chris, I don't wanna get bullets chasing my ass like you do. Besides the bookish girls are much nicer then the rough squadies" Hank said with a chuckle, wiggling his eyebrows obscenely as he did.

Chris smiled back, "Suppose it's for the best. If you became a real cop it wouldn't be the donuts in the break-room that went missing but the deliveries eh?"

"You know it'd be true"

Chris laughed and clapped his cohort on the back; "Ok enough crap lets get out of here"

"Lead the way partner"

Chris smirked and strode off, Hank hurrying to follow, back in the direction of Raccoon City. He had to admit he was knackered but he couldn't sleep yet.

'I gotta tell someone about what happened here, got to get the ball rolling straight away' Chris thought as he wondered about what connections, and he knew there were many, Umbrella had with this case.

Chris sighed and rubbed at his eyes, he'd have to sit down with Jill and discuss it as his sleepy musing wasn't gonna get anywhere alone. He just hoped Jill wouldn't be too pissed with him waking her up in the middle of the night.

And inwardly he also hoped that his worried gut feeling could just, however unlikely, be wrong about this case.

Cause the last time he felt so nervous and tightly strung in an investigation it had almost killed him.

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Sergeant Andrew Collins believed he had made a good career choice when he enlisted with Umbrellas military division.

He got to use his combat skills on numerous occasions; usually against challenging and incredible dangerous biological weapons his employers had created and quickly lost control off.

That was why of course that Umbrella had such a high need for trained soldiers like himself and his men because an escape by one of Umbrellas latest monstrosities happened fairly often.

And that was when Collins and men like him had to face down and destroy these monsters, and risk a certainly agonising death, because of the company's screw-ups.

Of course occasionally a prominent scientist would 'accidentally' allow one of his, or her, creations to run loose on a rampage just so they could test the creature against human firepower and courage.

'And then watch with glee the end video footage of one of my men getting eviscerated' Collins thought with disgust.

It was megalomaniac men, not the monsters that were the true risk to any employee of Umbrella. Collins himself believed in the viral research Umbrella conducted and in the potential power of the T-virus and its spawn.

Him and soldiers like him had already been treated with small samples of the virus and the increased strength, agility and toughness granted by the virus were extraordinary.

Collins believed in Umbrellas dream. He believed that an army of super warriors could be made and that he himself, one day, would be on the frontlines as Umbrella took on the whole world.

A New World order… an end to the hypocrisy and corruption of the worlds nations and especially America. An end to disease and poverty, an end to war, the entire world united by Umbrella.

True equality… a future where everyone, man, woman and child would receive the blessing of Umbrella and become stronger then they believed possible.

And with everyone united not by blood but by the virus within his or her veins peace would become a reality.

But that day was a long way off and until then Collins resigned himself to having to obey the whims of men who were driven by their own need for power and not a dream.

And that was why when Dr Birkin asked him, in that oh-so polite and friendly voice of his, to cut off another toe he did so without comment.

The man strapped to the steel-operating table screamed as the big toe of his left foot was severed his voice hoarse and broken from almost a solid thirty minutes of screaming.

Sergeant Collins took the mans toe, squeezing it firmly to get most of the blood out before placing it in a bag on a small tray next to him. It contained eight fingers, two thumps and now one toe.

"It was really foolish of you Mr Carter to leave those X-rays hanging up when I gave explicit instructions for all evidence of the project to be removed from the lab. Do you know how… irritating it was to see that my instructions had not been fully carried out?" The soft voice of William Birkin asked almost gently of the man writhing in pain on the table.

"Please… please…" Mr Carter whimpered, his voice slurred with pain and now barely coherent.

Collins wasn't surprised that the man was having difficulty talking. He had already fainted five times now, 'once for every finger of his left hand' and every time the professor had asked with slight exasperation for Collins to wake him up.

This meant giving the man a powerful electric shock until he woke up screaming again.

"Mr Redfield asked a few very intrusive questions and I was forced to lie to him in order to allay his suspicions… you know I hate having to lie Mr Carter and liars in general"

"Didn't… didn't know… sorry… please" the broken man whimpered through blooded lips.

William made a noise of sympathy and stepped round the table gently laying a hand on the mans slightly smoking hair, the man flinched as William patted him soothingly.

"I understand. You were in charge of sweeping the lab of all evidence, clearing tables, wiping computers, and hiding files with only a few minutes advance warning. I can understand that you may have forgotten a few silly little pictures," William said calmly and reasonably, Collins could almost believe the man was sincere himself.

"I can even forgive the X-rays… after all my explanation was plausible and although Chris will search for information on the subject, Williams eyes hardened slightly as he shot a look at the sobbing man, and he will of course but he won't have any luck"

William leaned down slowly, "I can forgive all that Mr Carter" he whispered into the mans trembling ear.

Collins watched the visible relief in Mr Carter's eyes, though it was difficult to see as both mans eyes were puffy and black from the beating he had been given. The sergeant couldn't help but find the Professors polite mannerisms so intriguing in these situations.

"But what I can't forgive Mr Carter, Williams voice was now a sinister hiss, was you leaving an open file, a very incriminating open file, right on the desk below the X-rays where all Mr Redfield would have to do was look down and see something he shouldn't know of yet"

Now William straightened up his eyes as hard as a judge passing sentence, "If that happened he would have to have been killed there and then and the whole stars project could have been jeopardised… and THAT is unforgivable Mr Carter"

"Please… please!" Mr Carter's voice became shrill with desperation as he pleaded with the man looming over him.

"I'm afraid I have no use for such bumbling fools in my labs. So Mr Carter I must put you to another use that I'm sure even you are capable of performing"

The bound man watched in speechless horror as William motioned for himself and the sergeant to leave. As William reached the thick steel door that was the one of the only entrances to this room he turned towards Mr Carter and gave him a sickening smile.

"Fortunately in this case your skills and intelligence are not needed in the slightest bit Mr Carter. Here you only have to do something your body will find very easy to accomplish. Species all over the world do this at least once in their existence, whether in life or death and I'm sure you'll perform admirably"

The professor then locked the door behind him and Mr Carter was left alone in the brightly-lit cell, tied and helpless.

His hazy vision saw William appear at a plastic window to his right and the small smile and wide stare alone made Mr Carter shake with renewed fear.

"Open the door" Williams voice said over the speaker system and the strapped down scientist began to scream and thrash in his binds as the heavy steel door behind him opened with hardly a sound.

Mr Carter pleaded to the image of William but the other scientist merely smiled wider at his prayers.

Then he saw Williams's eyes move and focus on something behind him and a look of wonder and excitement come to the young mans eyes. Mr Carter froze as he heard heavy breathing and gurgling approaching from behind him and the shuffling steps of something walking.

Shaking like a leaf in the breeze the bound man slowly looked back behind him, his neck protesting at the action but his terror too acute to care.

His trembling suddenly stopped, his whole body ceasing all movement as if he had been frozen solid. His eyes so wide with terror and fixed on the creature that looked back at him with an almost curious expression on its ravaged face.

Pale milky eyes roamed over his body and the face rose and the monster breathed in deep, a horrible snorting sniff as it absorbed the scent of blood. His blood.

The eyes noticed that he was tied down and the creature's mouth split into a disgusting leer as rancid spittle flowed over its cracked and brown teeth. The excitement evident in its dead eyes as it stared back at the defenceless human.

Green gas began to flow from its mouth as its excitement grew; it stepped forward shakily its white eyes wide as it drank in the sight of him. Almost as if it was loving what it was seeing so hesitant were its steps, like the soft careful approach of one lover to another, the other bare and vulnerable.

Its hands reached for him, blackened claws at the tips and red muscles over the bone while its skin lay peeling from its flesh. The hands shaking with trepidation and a note of awe in the creatures' light groan as it inched closer to the human.

Mr Carter's trembling returned at the first touch of those hands, the slimy sensation making him want to flinch and recoil but the terror in his limbs and his locked gaze with his companion preventing all movement.

The creature cooed as its hands traced over his head, the claws running gently through his hair and over his cheeks. Its touch soft and strangely gentle and Mr Carter lay completely still, paralysed just like a rabbit in the grip of cat. With wonder one rotted thumb grazed over his lips leaving a bittersweet tastes of rot on his trembling lips.

The creature leaned over him, its panting becoming heavier blowing foul green air over his face as it slowly approached him. It licked its lips, like a person preparing to savour the taste of his loves lips, and its mouth opened almost as if it was going to kiss him.

The scientists' mind was numbed with terror and so was his sensation of pain. He never felt the claws sink into his neck holding him tightly in place as the rotted lips descended and bared the cracked fangs underneath.

Mr Carter died with the a pair of glowing white eyes etched into his mind, his last thought was that the eyes of the monster did possess a strange caring and even love within them just before they changed into bloodthirsty rage.

The final love between a predator and its prey… the love for its food.

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William watched with interest as the crimson zombie devoured the late Mr Carter, even through the thick glass the mans screaming had been shrill and distinct before the crimson had finished him.

A loud crack sounded and William cocked his head as the crimson ripped its foods skull open and began happily feasting on the soft tissue underneath, murmuring in pleasure as it did so.

"It's almost as if it was worshipping him at that final moment just before it attacked, William muttered thinking back to before it struck, what do you think sergeant?"

Sergeant Collins allowed a hint of revulsion to show on his face as he scowled at the feasting zombie, he had nothing but contempt for the beast and all others like it. He couldn't wait for the day when the virus was completely perfected and such monstrosities would never again degrade the image of Umbrella.

"I think that everyone loves bacon but I wouldn't want to be the pig sir" Collins said dryly.

William laughed, "Interesting wording sergeant and not without some merit"

The scientists' eyes then returned to their usual cold appearance, "And now that this nuisance has been dealt with sergeant perhaps we can now see what we can do about the other one yes?"

Collins nodded and quickly strode over to the security stations main computer, ignoring the zombies squealing as he accessed the computer and wondering, not for the first time, why the security office was connected to the feeding pens.

"Here is the warehouse camera footage sir" Collins said as he brought the small feed to full screen. Seeing the image before him he knew the scientist would not be acquiring a good mood anytime soon.

William took a seat beside the terminal and stared in silence at the security footage for several long moments, his eyes were hard and focused and a slight twitch in his jaw was the only sign of his rising anger.

"Who is that man sergeant?" William said quietly as he pointed to the small almost rodent-like man who was hunched over the crimsons' status tube, fiddling around with its computer terminal while Chris looked over his shoulder.

Collins took a long look and was oddly reminded of a rat or perhaps a ferret of some kind as the mysterious man turned to talk to Chris and he got a good profile on his face, "I'm afraid I have never encountered the man before sir" he said carefully.

"However, he added all too aware of Williams rage and needing to placate it, I would guess he is not a police officer, his clothing and bearing makes me feel that he is probably a petty criminal or private investigator Chris brought along"

William nodded already reaching the conclusion himself, "Sergeant I want this mans life on paper for me in a day tops" he said quietly.

Collins nodded, William didn't need to threaten considering his reputation alone was intimidating enough, "Yes sir. May I ask if you would like an operation prepared for this… man?"

William grinned and tapped a finger on the image of Chris's companion, "In time sergeant, in time. For now we have better things to focus on but in a day or two this man will regret ever sticking his rather rodent-like nose into my affairs"

"And Mr Redfield sir?"

William immediately shook his head, "No sergeant none of the stars are to be approached in any way. The project can't be deviated in the slightest and we will want the men and women of stars as fit and able as possible for the trial ahead"

"Although, William scratched his chin in thought, Mr Redfields attention will mean I will have to take steps to dampen his curiosity and also speed up our course in Raccoon City"

William stood up and began to pace about, face slightly frowning and deep in thought, he nodded after a minute and pointed at the sergeant, "Get in contact with Albert, tell him I need to talk with him regarding one of his guinea pigs"

"Is that all sir?" Collins asked.

William glanced behind him at the crimson, the monster had finished its meal and was now right up against the glass, its pale eyes hungrily fixed on William and Collins.

"Tell me again where did our other friend go for his dinner last time sergeant?" William asked with a strange excitement in his voice.

Collins thought back then answered, "A caravan park on the outskirts of the city sir, up to a dozen families I believe" 'women and kids too'

William raised a hand and gently touched the glass; the crimson jerked its head to the side and followed the movement.

"And while that created quite a panic the people at Raccoon are easily calmed by the promises of their police and mayor, even now they are moving on with their lives correct?"

Collins nodded again, eyeing the crimson as he did so, "Yes sir. People are already beginning to dismiss it as a freak occurrence"

The crimson mewled and began to lick and nuzzle the glass between it and Williams's hand; the scientist chuckled in amusement at its actions. "Now that can't do can it sergeant? If we want stars to be sent out into the wilderness quickly then it will take a lot of public uproar to convince them to move" the young man said with a disappointed sigh.

His eyes turned away from the zombie and fixed on the sergeants instead, the soldier had to fight not to frown as he saw the bright insanity in those hazel orbs.

"Tell me sergeant what sort of attack would get the greatest media? A peaceful and quiet street? A workplace? A park or club?"

William snorted and shook his head, "Such attacks happen all the time, the people will dismiss them just as readily as the caravan massacre," he said with slight disgust.

He tapped his chin in thought as his other hand-traced patterns on the glass, the crimsons head darting about to follow its movement.

"Show me a map of the nearest city blocks to the caravan park" William said in an excited rush as he stepped away from the glass, the monster within whining as he did so.

Collins quickly brought up a map of Raccoon City on the computer, magnifying it to the designated area then stepping to the side as William sat down and examined it. After a few moments the scientist grinned widely and pointed to a point on the map, "There sergeant, he said with satisfaction, that is where we will get all the media we want"

Collins narrowed his eyes as he stared at the small group of buildings that Williams's finger was hovering over, "Are you sure sir?" Collins asked, inwardly hoping William would change his mind.

Hazel eyes flickered towards him narrowing slightly in suspicion, once again Williams's empathic nature allowing him to sense his sergeants reservations.

"Is there something wrong with the place I have chosen Sergeant Collins?" William asked sharply.

Collins fought to keep his face neutral, he considered backing out but he was anything but a coward…. And he knew he had to voice his disapproval now or forever suffer for his weakness.

"It's a school sir," he said quietly.

William rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Yes I am aware of that sergeant, that IS the reason I picked the place for the next incident," William said curtly.

"An attack there will force Stars into action and with Albert and Irons nudging them in the right direction the operation should begin in just a few days"

Collins listened and knew that William was correct, if the monster were unleashed on the school then Stars would have no choice but to follow the beast back to its lair. The route helpfully provided by Umbrella.

But some battered shred of his soul cried out that this was wrong, that setting the beast on children was going too far, that no dream was worth such a sacrifice.

But then Collins had heard the inner voice plead with him for years now and he had yet to take its advice.

"My apologies sir, I was merely worried that being so far into the city we would lose this subject to the police like the previous crimson" Collins said neutrally.

William eyed him for a moment then nodded his head approving of his wording, "Fear not sergeant I will have greater precautions taken this time round so no mistakes will be made" the madman said soothingly.

"This will be yet another step towards the ascension of Umbrella" Collins said quietly, more to himself then his leader.

William nodded and spared a glance towards the crimson, the beast was now picking out pieces of the bloody corpse it shared a room with out of boredom.

"They say that the road to evil, or is damnation? Is paved with good intentions…" William whispered.

He looked back at the map and his grin was now a sick leer as he prodded at the screen with a finger.

"So perhaps our road to peace, to a New World… is to be drenched in blood?"

William sat in silence for a few seconds then shrugged and sat back in the chair, he beamed up at Collins and said with a titter, "But then what else is new in the world eh. Hasn't blood always been the fuel for true peace?"

"Yes sir"

Chapter 13.

A date with the devil.

Dreams.

Many theories exist on one of the most unusual activities of a resting brain.

Some believe them to be an images or representations of our subconscious desires. Others feel that perhaps dreams are windows to other worlds or even realties, while some think they are a part of a greater collective unconscious of humanity.

Of course the majority of people just dismiss them as occasional interesting, sometimes unnerving, usually dull. Nothing more then something that happens and that rarely requires any deeper investigation on their part.

But even amongst the cynics there are times when they awake from a dream that was so intense, so real, that they find themselves wondering for just a few seconds after waking which is the true reality and which is illusion?

They say that dreams can be gateways to another world…

But what about entrances to the world, and the shadowy inhabitants, within your own mind?

It took Hazard a few minutes for his brain to finally start asking questions.

He supposed the poster was interesting enough and the picture it showed had so far made him overlook asking himself the important things.

The dark image was unsettling even to Hazard, the scene showing a mud pathway leading up to the mansion, lines of trees on either side and a heavy downpour drenching the ground.

The whole image was set at night too, with a crescent moon providing just enough light to see what was in the world but creating enough shadows to give the imagination plenty of tension. The monstrous shapes that lurked among the undergrowth and could just be seen in the black windows of the mansion would be unsettling even in daylight. At night they were absolutely terrifying.

Golden eyes glanced to the right, blankly observing the reptilian shapes that danced through the trees and darted through the bushes, their evil eyes glaring hatefully out of the poster.

And now looking to the left Hazard tilted his head in confusion, not recognising the subject that coiled around several trees and was almost invisible in the darkness. The monster looking like a giant snake and although difficult to distinguish its body its blazing, and yet strangely compelling, eyes shone like torches in the night.

"Ok the scaleys I know but I've never meet any giant cobras so far" Hazard said dryly, at the moment more annoyed and confused then scared.

His eyes were then drawn to the mansion, immediately looking towards the second and third floors and the many windows that dotted the buildings length. Some windows were brightly lit, and the shambling zombies within were horribly detailed, their rotted limps stretched out towards him even over such a great distance and a hunger in their dead eyes.

In the shadowed windows only nightmarish creatures could be seen, horrible images of tentacles, teeth, claws and glowing eyes that drenched the walls and window framework around them with slime. It was as if all the denizens of the mansion had gotten together in an unholy orgy, and in the shadows had birthed a litter of monsters that highlighted each of their most disgusting traits.

Hazard scowled at the abominations for a little longer before his eyes rose higher, now on the roof of the mansion itself. Strewn across the turrets, tiles and pathways of the roof were great dirty-grey webs that had several different species of monster trapped within them. Dotting the webs were huge spiders, their many eyes and limbs fixed onto their prey as they drained the life fluids from their screaming victims with their huge fangs.

"I hate spiders" Hazard growled, now becoming a little scared at the madness he was seeing but quickly overriding it with anger.

He wanted to look away and for a brief instant his eyes closed and his head began to turn away from the this depraved portrait of natures perversion. Yet against his will his eyes snapped open again and returned to the poster, now staring at the very doors of the mansion itself.

He cocked his head as he studied the open entrance doors of the mansion. The great wooden doors thrown open revealing nothing but inky darkness inside, as if the mansion itself was the entrance to a realm of shadow and insanity.

"Suppose it's right actually" Hazard muttered in resigned agreement with the poster.

His eyes blinked and now they were focused on something else, something he missed in his last sweep of the mansion.

There was something standing in the open doorway of the mansion, a humanoid figure but far too tall and muscular to be a human.

Nothing but a faint outline could be seen in the darkness but Hazard got the impression of incredible strength and power in that tall frame and a cunning and murderous intent unrivalled by any other monster of the mansion.

He could see blades glinting in its right hand and after squinting realised that instead its hand was mutated into a great weapon of long claws instead of fingers, the bone weapons just as sharp as steel.

Even more chilling were the creatures' eyes, that like the snakes was bright and visible even in the shadows. They shined with a will long turned to madness by years locked within a cage, and were now challenging Hazards own golden eyed gaze.

"Freaky" Hazard muttered wondering at the significance of the poster and the monsters it depicted.

Lastly Hazards eyes again moved of their own accord and admired the tall, defiant figure that stood at the base of the poster. The creature walking towards the mansion, shoulders set in determination and a weapon in both hands as he strode forth to challenge the monsters.

"The way it always will be" Hazard said smugly as his other self prepared to face the mansion, no fear evident in its posture.

Hazard glanced upwards finally noticing the writing scrawled across the top of the poster, in silver gothic lettering the words 'Can he survive?' were printed on the poster.

Hazard snorted, "Of course I will, I made a promise to myself right Unity?"

Hazard waited a few seconds then frowned as no reply came from his friend. He poked at his head, (wincing when he jabbed a little too hard) "what no cheeky remark Unity?" he asked pleasantly.

There was still no response and Hazards frown turned to a look of worry, 'what the hell?' he closed his eyes and began to explore within his head searching for the familiar presence of his later ego.

But where the other voice had occupied a soothing and warm part of his psyche now he felt nothing but silence and cold from the area, as if Unity was locked away under ice or even worse completely gone.

The shock alone made Hazard flinch and break eye contact with the poster, now his darting eyes at last saw his surroundings for the first time. When he did all thoughts of Unity vanished and his eyes widened in amazement at what was before him.

'Where am I?' the question was finally thought.

The first thought that came to mind was that the room was just as large as the great hall of the mansion and looked a lot like a lobby of some kind.

The Tyrant glanced down, wondering at the strange furriness he could feel on his feet. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was just red carpeting, the fabric covering the floor of the whole room.

Peeking behind him he saw a revolving glass door and see-through walls that led outside, however all he could see through the glass was pitch-blackness, not a star nor any other shape visible in the darkness.

He scowled at the 'out of order' sign; a cheap cardboard hanging that was attached to the exit. He was tempted to smash through the glass just to find out what was going on with the outside.

'Should really finish checking this room out first Hazard' the Tyrant berated himself, feeling a chill as he thought that it should be Unity saying this.

Shaking his head to clear his fear he glared ahead of him noticing a strange stand, like a reception desk but not, stretched across the far wall and two bright red double doors on either side.

He cocked his head in perplexity as he noticed the front of the desk was glass and inside it was stuffed with strange coloured objects and lots of small yellow-white things.

He hesitantly stepped forward, his stride slow and his hands bunching into fists as he glanced around wary of an attack. The numerous posters that all showed the same image that covered the walls either side of him were making him a little uneasy.

'Bloody hell where's my gear?' Hazard thought angrily as he patted himself down and found his knife and crossbow gone. Where the hell had he left his weapons?

As he walked he spent a few moments trying to think back, to remember how he got here, but all he could get out of his damn memory was 'come back later'.

He was now close enough to see the desk fully and as he stared at the items in the glass, and smelled a strangely familiar scent in the air, he suddenly clicked at what these things were.

"Its popcorn and sweets!" Hazard yelled in astonishment, scarcely able to believe what he was seeing.

But now his suspicions were aroused and his eyes darted upwards now seeing a timetable hanging above the desk. The white plastic sheets saying in bold black marker pen 'Hazards Tale: Showing now' over and over again in ordered rows.

It all suddenly made sense. The posters. The bright colourful room in a simple shape. The timetable and the food.

"This is a cinema?" Hazard whispered in disbelief.

It was then his ears pricked as a loud flush sounded and his head whipped to the left, he had a moment to stare at the blue door, with the word 'Men's' printed on the top, before it opened and someone stepped out.

Hazards' face screwed up in revulsion at the creature that had just stepped from what he assumed to be the toilet. The creature hissing to itself as it straightened its uniform and hat, not yet noticing its gawking audience of one.

Hazard thought the creature looked a lot like an insect had gotten busy with a human and created the horrible thing. Its body was vaguely humanoid, standing upright with four limbs and a head, yet its skin was more like the chitinous plating of a beetle and its limbs ended in claws and reaper-like scythes.

Its face was anything but human. With bulging grey eyes in the normal place, another smaller two at the sides of its face, mandibles and a dripping orifice for a mouth. It had no ears just slits on the side of its face and small grey wisps of hair sticking out of its head in odd directions.

It was monstrous. It was an abomination. It was unholy!

And yet it was wearing a dorky red usher's uniform and a silly cap. The contrast of images making Hazard pause as he tried to work out what he should do, laugh or attack?

The creature at last straightened its uniform, or as much as it could considering all the spurs and barbs sticking out of its flesh, and noticed Hazard.

The Tyrant and monster stared at each other for a few moments, neither saying a word nor moving as they sized each other up. The slightest fast movements sparking an instant kill or be killed battle between the two.

Then the monster moved, its claws shooting behind it and Hazard tensed to spring, ready to rip the foul beast to shreds.

Then paused at the sign that was thrust into his face.

'Hi! I am the cinemas resident usher, food server and toilet cleaner. Please do not attack me, as I am here to assist you, the consumer, in your enjoyment of tonight's movie'

Hazard had no clue what to do now. The sheer insanity of the moment making his whole body twitch in uncertainty as he stared at the almost comical, ACME-like, hand sign before him.

"You're the usher?" Hazard asked, at a loss for anything else to say really.

The monster nodded and hid the sign behind its back, then quickly coming out with it again but this time the writing on board was different, 'Yep though believe me I could do without the toilet cleaning bit'.

"Really?" Hazard said weakly.

The grey eyes of the monster flashed and a fresh stream of slime splattered on the floor as it spluttered in anger, 'Damn right! I don't need to be trying to unclog the toilets with all the emotional baggage you put down there' the sign practically screamed.

Hazard blinked as he read the wording, the strange sentence making him think with perfect clarity 'the hell?' "Just what is going on here" he growled.

The monster didn't answer and instead padded past Hazard, the clicking of its claw-footfalls dampened by the red carpet below, and took up a station behind the reception, glaring around at the various foods and hissing to itself as it searched for something.

It ducked out of sight and more sounds of scrabbling and stuff being thrown about was heard from out of sight. Hazard raised himself on tiptoe, trying to peek over the counter before the sign made a reappearance as the creature waved it above the counter.

'AHA!' The sign said as the creature bounced up from out of sight clutching something in its claws and a relieved expression on its face. Though it was hard to make any judgements on its expression considering the face it owned.

'Whew! For a moment there I was worried that I was gonna be getting a kicking later' the sign changed to say as the bug monster handed a small slip of paper to Hazard, the Tyrant hesitating for a moment then carefully taking it from the monsters claw.

'Grab some food and drink for two Hazard then meet me in the cinema, we got a lot to talk about. V' The note said in a barely legible scrawl.

Hazard scowled at the paper then shot a glare at the monster that was watching him closely, "Who the hell is 'V'?" Hazard demanded.

The monster shrugged, 'Don't ask me I just work here, I don't wonder about the messages I'm asked to hand out or the senders' the raised sign said in a dismissive writing.

Hazard covered his eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm him down. God he couldn't take much more of this, where was he? What was he doing here? Why was here?

'And where the hell is Unity?' Hazard screamed in his mind. The absence of a soothing reply making him more unnerved then he ever though he would be.

Hazard flexed his claws as he glared at the bored-looking monster. He may not have his knife or bow but he had plenty of other weapons…

The creature shrieked as Hazard grasped it by the front of its uniform and yanked it across the counter so they were face to face, "You are going to answer my questions or I am going to tear you apart" Hazard hissed into those panic-wide grey eyes.

'What do you wanna know?' the shaking sign said.

"What is this place?" Hazard growled.

The monster rolled its eyes, the sight of four eyes rolling distracting Hazard slightly, 'It's a cinema… duh!' the sign wrote mockingly.

Hazard snarled and smashed a fist into the counter, the mass of bone, skin and sinew causing a very big hole in the desk and reminding the monster of its precarious situation.

"How did I get here? And when?"

The insectoid monster frowned as it mulled this over, 'I'm not exactly sure of the time but you came here probably about an hour after you fell asleep. Before that you were fantasying about that Ada chick again'

Hazard felt the rage drain from his face to be replaced with swirling confusion. He glanced around at his surroundings, at the posters and the images they showed, "This… is a dream?" Hazard whispered in disbelief.

The monster thumped its sign against the counter to get Hazards eyes back on it, 'Of course this is a dream! Though to be honest I'd consider this to be more of a nightmare myself'

"But… why? What's the point of this dream?" Hazard muttered as he tried to make sense of all this.

The bug monster shrugged again, 'Beats me. It's your head you work it out, I'm not being paid to'

Hazard looked back at the monster and slowly let go of it, stepping away and looking at the floor as his eyes narrowed and he tried to get a grip on his anger.

He glanced back at the creature seeing it hissing to itself again as it straightened its uniform, "What are you anyway? And what's your purpose here?" he asked sharply.

The monster fixed its cap and then answered with its classic raised sign, 'My purpose here is to assist you and provide a friendly face (Hazard snorted as he read that) to calm you while you get your head on straight about this place not being real'

The bug creature then flipped the sign round and fresh writing was there on the back, 'To be honest I don't have a name, nor do I know what I am as you haven't encountered something like me yet'

The creature shrugged again at Hazards incredulous look, "So I regularly make hideous monsters that look like something from a crappy B-movie, that I've never even seen! To talk to me in my dreams! Oh that's just great," Hazard yelled in astonishment as he threw up his arms and started pacing.

The monster frowned and quickly raised another sign, 'Have a care mate, I may be imaginary but I still got feelings' the sign wrote in hurt.

Hazard ignored it and continued pacing, after a moment he snapped out another question, "Where's Unity? Why can't I hear him in my head?"

'Beats me' the sign said.

Hazard roared and kicked over a waste bin, he stood fuming for almost a full minute, claws clenching and unclenching, teeth bared, muscles taunt and eyes blazing as he fought against his anger.

"Right! Hazard barked as he came to a decision, I'm here so I might as well see what else my crazy head has to throw at me"

He quickly glanced up at the timetable seeing that screen two was currently the only one showing 'A Hazards Tale', all the others saying the film had been delayed or cancelled.

He began to walk off in the direction of the movie when the bug monster shrieked to get his attention.

'Wait! You get free food and drink first before going in!' The sign said as the monster gestured at the food around it.

Hazard was about to tell it to stuff itself, and leave it up to the monster to work out what he meant exactly, when the thought came to him that he had never tasted popcorn before.

'Well technicality its all imaginary food so I won't be 'eating' anything… of course I had to have had popcorn at some time in my previous life to even know what the stuff is… ARRGGH! Too many questions!'

Hazard stomped over to the counter and scowled at the various foods on over, "Just gimme some popcorn" he muttered with as much menace as he could.

The creature ducked down, shovelling a heavy measure of the yellow-white fluff into a paper bag, it stood up and gingerly handed it to Hazard.

'Want a drink?' the trembling sign asked.

"No" Hazard said curtly and, turning on his heel strode off towards the film doors.

"I hope I never get a repeat of this dream" Hazard said over his shoulder as he opened the double doors and stepped into the viewing room, the darkness enveloping him as he the door swung shut behind his tail.

'Me too Hazard… I don't wanna meet Virus twice' the sign said towards the door the Tyrant had just exited from as the monster slowly faded away.

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'You know the buttery taste is quite nice… wonder how long ago it was when I last had some?' Hazard wondered as he threw another handful of popcorn into his mouth and chewed loudly.

The young Tyrant eyed the bright screen before him, the sheet that covered the wall ahead having the words 'Please wait for technical difficulties to end' projecting onto it.

Hazard sighed and leaned back in his chair, he had already given up on trying to escape and after exploring the small room for a few minutes he had decided to just sit down and enjoy his popcorn until something happened.

"Whoever this V is he, or she, better hurry up" Hazard grumbled as the popcorn began to run out.

He had entered the room only to find six rows of empty chairs and the screen ahead that had yet to say anything different. He had waited for about five minutes then had had enough and gone to leave.

But the exit had been extremely reluctant to open, no matter how hard he pushed, kicked or clawed at it. So once he found no other ways out of the room he had plunked down on a comfy seat and started munching.

He screwed the paper bag up and chucked it behind him then glared around him in boredom. The light of the screen was bright but only extended up three rows before being beaten by the darkness; the area ahead being so dark even Hazards eyes had trouble piercing through it.

Though even being in the light wasn't much better, the area was still covered with deep shadows and the floor was practically impossible to see, Hazards feet appearing to be cut off at his ankles by the blackness.

"God this is boring" Hazard said with a weary sign as he scratched his head.

Then shot up with a start as a huge 'five' appeared on the screen.

Four.

Three.

"Two… one…" Hazard whispered watching the countdown.

The screen went nuts with grey, fuzzy static for second then an image appeared on the wall, a little blurry but easily viewable.

Hazard squinted as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. A bluey-grey liquid with small bubbles of air rising above it that filled a glass capsule around seven feet tall.

The capsule appeared to be in a lab. Various computer terminals, desks and steel furniture, as well as the grated floor filled the room along with up to a dozen other glass containers that were ordered into rows.

Hazard made a noise of revulsion as he stared at the masses of mutated flesh that filled each capsule. Like a great ball of cancerous tissue the things even had stumps of limbs and huge, bloodshot and pus-filled eyes that dotted their foul forms.

"What the hell am I seeing?" Hazard whispered as he looked at the failed, for what else could they be, experiments that were stuffed into the capsules.

"_You're seeing your birth Hazard"_

Hazard leapt to his feet as the strange voice faded into the gloom, "Who's there?" Hazard demanded as he crouched in a fighting stance, claws ready and fangs bared in a snarl.

The voice chuckled, though it sounded like nails down a chalkboard to Hazards ears, _"My my aren't we defensive? Do not fear Hazard I am not here to harm you"._

"Then why are you here?" Hazard asked warily.

"_To show you. Look at the single clean capsule Hazard" _the voice quietly ordered.

Hazard scowled but complied; he looked back at the screen and gasped at what he saw.

"Its… me?"

Hazard watched his other self float in the liquid, idly wondering why he didn't see it before, a peaceful expression on his own features.

The Tyrant stared at his own self in wonder, amazed by the sight before him. So this was where he was born.

It was strange… but Hazard couldn't remember much of that moment when he first opened his eyes and found himself in the labs. His first real conscious thought, that had any intelligence, was when he looked out into the corridor leading out of the room and felt afraid.

Hazard frowned as he noticed his other self begin to curl up into a tighter ball and a distressed look shape his features. He wondered what had caused it when he saw that the fluid in the tube, that his past self was immersed in, was slowly turning a putrid yellow.

Hazard flinched as the screen went red as emergency lights flooded the lab, making his other self appear to be floating in blood. He watched with growing alarm as sparks of electricity ran over his capsule and the other Hazard flinched and writhed in pain.

"Wha-whats going on?" Hazard yelled as he watched horror-struck his own pain.

"_You are dying Hazard," _the voice said with calm detachment.

"No!" Hazard shrieked as he continued to watch, he took a step forward, wanting to help the creature in pain, then realised how foolish he was being.

He snapped his gaze into the shadows, searching for the owner of the voice but finding nothing but darkness, "I can't be dying or I wouldn't be here now" he growled.

"_Correct Hazard you 'were' dying then…but luckily for you someone intervened with fate on your behalf' _the voice said with smug excitement.

Hazard looked back at the screen and almost jumped in fright as he saw his own eyes, now a bright bloody red, meet his own as the Tyrant in the capsule awoke.

Hazard watched himself look around as he started to choke on the poisonous fluid around him. Drawing his lips back in an animalistic snarl the other Hazard began to smash his fists against the glass in an effort to break free.

After a mere five seconds the glass shattered and the Tyrant within was washed to the floor with the small wave of fluid that was released.

The Tyrant lay curled up in a foetal ball, shaking heavily due to cold floor and retching as Hazard forced the fluid from his lungs. Then he arched up in one powerful movement as he opened his mouth wide and took his first deep breath of air, then falling back in a heap, temporarily weakened by his struggle to escape and breathe.

Hazard was mesmerised as he watched his past self's' eyes open again and look around the dingy lab, the bright red eyes wide with confusion as they took in the horrible sights around them.

'I don't remember any of this' Hazard repeated in shock as he watched himself shakily rise to his feet, holding onto the smashed capsule for support due to his shaking legs. The whole image so alien to Hazard yet he knew it was all true, that the puzzled creature that took its first, hesitant steps forward was indeed him.

His past self walked across the hall, his red eyes looking around but either not noticing the repulsive sights around him, or more likely not caring.

'Its not me… its something else' Hazard thought as he watched his other self rip off a chunk of aged flesh from a dead researcher, one of several that dotted the lab, and hastily devour it for nourishment. 'Its me as an animal' Hazard surmised as he watched himself reach the steel door and poke and prod the obstacle, sniffing at the metal and mewling like a beast as he tried to work out what to do with the blockage.

After a few seconds the animalistic Tyrant couldn't figure a way out and its eyes hardened as it snarled in anger. It released a roar of pure rage and threw itself at the door, howling at the top of its voice.

Hazard watched in awe as his other self effortlessly tore the thick steel door apart, the heavy metal crumbling under his frenzied blows. His claws gouging deep into the solid metal without any trouble.

"How… how is that possible" Hazard whispered in confusion, "I'm strong but not THAT strong"

The floor around the other Hazard was becoming slick with blood and the Tyrant realised he must have been cutting his hands as he ripped through the metal. Yet the deep cuts he could just make out in-between the punches were closing just as quickly as they appeared.

"_The door was designed to hold back creatures like yourself Hazard. And having your hands shredded to ribbons before the door could be broken wouldn't be very helpful… so you needed to be able to heal faster then you were injured" _The voice explained from the shadows.

"And you did that?" Hazard asked sceptically.

"_It is my vow to you Hazard" _

"Vow?" Hazard asked quietly.

"_Not yet, there is more to see"_

Hazard blinked as the picture returned to bright white static, after a few seconds the countdown returned and now Hazard saw himself again but in a different setting.

He was dressed this time, wearing the white coat he found in the labs and he appeared to be in the mansion now. Hazard watched as his other self walked confidently down a set of dusty old stairs and felt a lump grow in his throat as he remembered what happened next.

Though there was no sound Hazard clearly remembered his surprised scream; the screen showing his lips repeating the motion, as a pair of powerful hands smashed through the steps and grabbed him by the ankles.

Hazard flinched and recoiled from the screen as he watched himself fall down the stairs, a sharp breath escaping his lips as he crashed against the wall at the bottom of the stairs. THAT had really hurt…

Hazard saw his others eyes widen in terror and Hazard knew the crimson had just released its demonic roar of hunger. He saw the monster step out from behind the stairs and approach his fallen body, that terrible hunger shining with horrible clarity in its eyes.

"_You would have died here Hazard, so great was your fear and pain"_ the voice said with a trace of accusation.

Hazard ducked his head and held back his retort, he didn't want to admit it but he knew the voice was right about this moment, this terrible moment.

He looked up seeing the pain and paralysing fear in the other Hazards eyes and knew at that moment all he would have been able to do was stare as the crimson ripped his throat out. The shock of the impact and numbness afterwards overwhelming his senses and drowning out the instinctual flight or fight response.

'I remember this, Hazard thought wretchedly, the sudden sharp pain as I hit the wall, warm fluid flowing over my eyes and face and then numbness, a cold that deadened the pain but made me so weak that all I could do was watch death coming'

"_But thankfully there was another who is always alert Hazard, _the voice hissed from the shadows_, one who is always ready to fight"_.

Hazard watched as the eyes of his other self glazed over for the barest of seconds, then a deep blood red dyed the irises of the eye and the transformed Hazard roared as he threw himself at the approaching monster.

"_Me…" _

Hazard swallowed in revulsion as he watched himself tear into the crimson, his own face warped into a visage of pure rage as he matched the crimson claw to claw, tooth to tooth. His frenzied attack amazing to Hazard as he watched himself rip whole chunks of flesh off his adversary and not once even flinch at the wounds he was gaining himself.

"If you're trying to get me on your side then this is a poor attempt. I was confused earlier but after seeing this I know what you are" Hazard snarled as he looked away from the picture and scowled into the darkness.

"_You know my name Hazard but not what I am to you" _

"You are the reason for all my problems! You are the Virus that has corrupted me!" Hazard shrieked in outrage. His eyes narrowed in hate as he glared at the shadows, searching for the manifestation of the poison in his very cells.

"_Corrupted? Corrupted you say?"_

The Virus laughed mockingly, _"Is the improvement of your body a corruption? Greater strength, agility, regeneration, senses, such things would be considered a blessing to thousands, no! Tens of thousands of humans across the world! And you dare call it corruption!"_

"You took away my life… I don't know what I am anymore" Hazard whispered as he stared at his claws, so different to humans pink fingers.

"_No Hazard I did not take away your life, a greater monster then me has claimed responsibility for that my friend. A monster we both know well" _Virus said solemnly.

"But Umbrella made you" Hazard said in accusation.

"_They made you too Hazard. Are you their puppet? Are you their weapon? No, so neither am I"_

"So what! You want to be a friend to me too? Like Unity? Somehow I question your motives Virus" Hazard laughed as he pointed out to the bleeding, torn creature that was Hazard on the screen.

"_I am your ally Hazard. I give you strength to survive in a world that wants to devour you. I am not like Unity, I am different, but like him I have no wish to see you die"_

"Then what do you want?" Hazard asked warily.

"_To survive… just like you Hazard"_

Hazard frowned as he thought this over, the words and the strangely soothing reptilian voice were making him confused, 'I need Unity'.

"You tried to mutate me afterwards" Hazard snapped as he pointed at himself who was now being guided by Unity towards the medical room under the stairs. He hadn't forgotten the terror he had felt when he found that cancerous lump on his tail.

"_It was an accident Hazard, _Virus said with a sigh, _you were heavily damaged and it was the first time I had needed to heal you to such an extend"_

"But it was your fault I WAS injured so much! You let me get hurt so badly by the crimson!" Hazard roared.

"_Is that what Unity told you? Well forgive me Hazard if I wasn't able to keep you unharmed while fighting a crimson zombie unarmed! This body is vastly superior to that foul creature but we are young still and not immortal"_

"_Consider the facts before you judge with such conviction Hazard"_ Virus finished sourly.

Hazard stopped to think about this, he supposed the Virus had a point but… Unity had been so clear about this alter ego, was Unity wrong or was Hazard being manipulated?

"_And remember Hazard,_ Virus said cunningly, _when you were so close to death who came to your aid? Me or Unity?"_

The screen changed again and Hazard was bombarded by various images of his wounded self, his wide golden eyes watching with horror and echoes of pain as he saw himself ravaged so many times.

"_Who helped you here?" _ Virus whispered as Hazard was shown torn and bleeding on his white bed. His wounds slowly ceasing to flow with blood and close as Hazard slept weakly.

"_And here?" _Now Hazard was lying at the foot of a tree, unconscious and with a large bruise on his forehead. The deep colouring of the wound quickly fading and then Hazards golden eyes drowsily opening as he picked himself up.

"_What about here?" _Hazard watched himself battle the reptilian creatures that had attacked the tentacle girl, then recovering in his room later. Again the wounds, which would have been mortal for a human, quickly healed with no scar what so ever.

"_Who has been helping you the most Hazard?" _Virus quietly asked.

Hazard didn't know what to think at the moment. The Virus was right but… he didn't know whether he could trust it or not.

"**We are proud to have your trust Hazard"**

Hazards eyes hardened as he remembered the words. He knew whom to trust; who had never steered him wrong, and who had always comforted him.

"Sorry Virus, Hazard said with resolve, but at the moment there's only one voice in my head I really trust at the moment. Trying to listen to two would just give me a major headache so I'm gonna say thanks for the chat but the juries still out on you Virus"

The shadows were silent but Hazard could sense a tension in the air and he prepared himself for battle as his eyes darted around wearily.

"_Very well Hazard, _Virus finally said, _if that is your decision I won't contest it, I'll leave you to think about this talk for a little longer"_

Hazard frowned as he absorbed the Virus's words, 'Ok I was expecting worse' he thought in surprise. The voice had been so calm and composed that Hazard almost felt bad for his earlier words…

"Well…um thanks" Hazard said lamely.

"_But" _The Virus snapped, 'Here it comes' Hazard thought edgily.

"_Before you go I want you to remember my vow to you Hazard, that as your virus I will always heal you and strengthen you against your enemies"_

"_And should you need me… I will always listen and unlike your 'friend' I can act" _Virus said with promise.

Hazard thought this over for a few moments then shrugged, "Oookay, thanks for that" he said lightly, 'I'm too freaked and tired to make any major decisions right now' he thought.

"Now! Hazard clapped his hands together, how do I get out of here?"

"_You're already out Hazard, in a few moments you'll wake up and you can continue to do whatever it is you do in the real world" _Virus answered dryly.

"_Trying to get that female into bed perhaps would be a good idea, _Virus said slyly, _I myself think you could do worse then her judging by what we saw of her oh-so pretty body yesterday"_

Hazards mouth dropped in surprise as he heard Virus's words, 'Wh-what? He… it! Thinks that I want…'

"That's none of your business!" Hazard snarled, hiding his embarrassment, and the blush tinting his cheeks, behind a show of anger.

The Virus laughed and the sound made Hazard grit his teeth and shut his eyes tight, 'Otherwise I'm gonna go ape' he fumed as he chanted 'wakeup,wakeup,wakeup' in his head.

"_I share the body so I think it is my business, but do not worry, I'll let you chase her in your own way and I won't interfere" _Virus said with a chuckle.

"So kind of you" Hazard hissed as he chanted louder, whispering the words under his breath too in desperation.

He drew in a breath as he felt suddenly light-headed and when he opened his eyes the surroundings were becoming fuzzy and hard to see, sharp one moment then dull the next. And then when he had the sensation of warmth on his cheeks and a light beginning top grow in his vision he knew he was waking up.

"_Give my regards to Unity"_ he heard Virus call after him as he felt himself drift away.

'I'll tell Unity about this that's for sure, and I hope I never have to talk to you again' Hazard thought before his dream ended and he was thrust back into consciousness.

Back into that strange world he had left behind.

Chapter 14.

A bath time conversation.

Hazard sighed as he held his head tight and listened to the tense silence within his head.

"That's all of it Unity, everything he… it said to me" Hazard mumbled.

'We… see…' Unity whispered in a small voice.

"I didn't listen Unity! Hazard said hurriedly, worried by Unity's quietness, I told it to get lost really"

'We are not afraid of betrayal by you Hazard, Unity said confidently, though still in that subdued tone, we are worried by this latest move by the Virus'

'That it could talk to you in your dream, and keep us in the dark about it, has us very afraid Hazard' Unity continued.

"Afraid?" Hazard asked as he took his head out of his claws and looked ahead into nothing. 'Unity has never been scared before' Hazard thought nervously.

'We are sorry to have scared you by our words Hazard' Unity said quietly, picking up on Hazards unease and the reasons behind it, 'but we cannot hide our unease from you'.

'I keep Virus in check within our minds, but the fact he was able to communicate with you so clearly in your dream means only one thing' Unity said ominously.

"And that is?" Hazard asked impatiently.

'That the Virus is becoming stronger within us Hazard'

Hazard felt his head drop back into his hands as he let loose an aggrieved growl, ' if its not one thing it's another'.

He snapped his head back from his hands and shot to his feet, eyes blazing with determination as quickly began to dress, "Well! I'm not gonna let this get to me Unity. If the Virus wants to try and take me again then let it try, I'm not afraid of it!" he said briskly as he pulled a shirt over his head and dragged it down.

'It was being strangely civilised with you Hazard' Unity pointed out with a mental frown.

"It was probably trying to get influence over me in a more subtle way, regardless I'm not listening to some imaginary voice in my head" the Tyrant said with a disgruntled snort.

"Except you of course," Hazard added as he buckled on his belt and clipped his crossbow to it.

Unity chuckled and Hazard felt a smile tug at his lips due to the pleasant sound, 'I don't wanna lose that voice again' he thought as he recalled how silent and alone his head felt without Unity's presence in the dream.

'So what is the agenda for today?' Unity asked lightly.

Hazard grinned as he twirled his knife and sheathed it in a fluid motion, "Now I go find some pretty flowers and knock on a lady's door" Hazard said with a carefree grin.

'Oh god this is gonna be fun to watch' Unity laughed.

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Hazard poked his head out of the mansion doors looking around at the forest surroundings and sniffing the air cautiously, ears pricked too for any sign of danger.

'It is already noon… perhaps two o'clock? You slept for quite awhile Hazard' Unity said quietly.

Hazard frowned as he looked up at the sun, the bright light making him squint as the ball of fire hung overhead. "How can you tell what time it is?" Hazard asked after he looked away and started blinking to clear his eyes of sunspots.

'Magic' Unity whispered.

"Funny, my sides are splitting with my loud laughter" Hazard growled as he drew his knife, just in case, and bounded off into the forest.

The foliage quickly embraced him into its world of green and shadow and Hazard smiled as he enjoyed himself, racing past the trees, vaulting bushes and fallen logs and generally enjoying his own life.

'Do you know where you're going?' Unity asked suspiciously after around five minutes of Hazard dashing through the forest as silent as a mouse and as agile as a panther.

'Yep!' Hazard thought back happily.

'And where is that?'

'The tentacle girls house' Hazard replied.

'And you know where this is how?'

"By using my highly evolved sense of smell," Hazard said with a smirk as he sniffed deeply. This was one of the many things he considered to be a blessing instead of a curse, his incredibly acute sense of smell.

'Not that I consider any part of my body ugly or anything' Hazard was quick to reassure himself.

He had picked up the tentacle girls' scent within the mansion and had judged it to be a simple matter of following the sweet smell back to her home. It was due to this that he picked his way so confidently through the forest only stopping from time to time to sample the air and get his bearings within the scent-heavy forest.

'Its amazing being able to smell with clarity so many different things in the world, I can almost see them within my mind, the creatures of the forest, moving about the place in the past' Hazard thought smugly.

'_This body isn't so bad when you consider some of the gifts it has'._

Hazard frowned and glanced about as the strange words filled his mind but he couldn't be sure if someone said them or if he was merely imagining them.

'What's wrong?' Unity asked curiously.

Hazard closed his eyes for a moment, 'It wasn't it, the Virus isn't talking to me I'm just hearing things. That's right. The wind and the movement around me are making me imagine words its obvious' Hazard thought to calm himself.

'Hazard?' Unity asked again, now with worry. Hazard was careful to keep his thoughts hidden just a moment ago so his friend had no idea what was freaking its host out.

'Its nothing I-'

Hazard froze in his explanation as something changed in the world around him. Though the forest seemed the same a strange… feeling… a sensation was growing in the air that Hazards instincts were warning was danger.

'Wait!' Hazard stopped dead as he finally sensed something. Quickly drawing himself against the nearest shadowed tree trunk he unclipped his crossbow, held his knife close, and with both weapons in his hands waited silently.

He breathed deeply, his face screwing up in revulsion as a revolting smell filled the air, thick and cloying like fresh sick it made Hazard want to gag as the air became polluted by the foul gas.

"Ssssssss…"

Hazard held his breath as an evil hiss whispered amongst the trees, the sound freezing everything around it as the very plants themselves seemed to be waiting tensely for whatever was coming to leave.

The Tyrants ears pricked as a quiet rustling sounded but a few meters from him and Hazard instinctively held himself as still as possible. His lungs began to protest as he refused to draw in oxygen but the young Tyrant KNEW that it would be a bad idea to make any noise what so ever.

His golden eyes narrowed as he stared into the bushes ahead but whatever was making him so afraid was in no hurry to reveal itself, yet while sight showed nothing but motionless bush and branch his other senses had more to give.

Whatever was out there it was big… really big. Smell and sound together giving him a rough mental image of the creature that was silently passing by him and he guessed it was probably more then thirty feet long.

Its scent, and the little sound it made, extended over a large area and Hazard was chillingly aware that only a few creatures had such a body shape and a terrifying 'hiss' too.

Though it seemed like an eternity to Hazards paralysed mind it was only perhaps a minute, maybe two, before the haunting presence of the creature faded away as it continued on through the forest in the direction Hazard had gone. Thankfully unaware, or perhaps not caring, of Hazards presence.

A final hiss drifted back to Hazard and then it was gone. Hazards senses waiting a few moments before giving the all clear that the terrible thing had gone to wherever such hellish things went.

"What… the HELL… was that?" Hazard said hoarsely once he felt it safe to take a breath.

'We have no idea… and we also hope we never come face to face with whatever that was' Unity whispered fearfully.

"That smell… it smelled like what terror and hopelessness smells like, choking and sweet like decay" Hazard said with a shiver of revulsion.

'We should leave now Hazard. Though it has gone this may be a route it uses often and it could be back at any moment' Unity said urgently.

Hazard nodded and rose to his feet holding his weapons tight as he looked around him cautiously. It was strange but now, with the sun overhead, dappled shadows on the floor and the almost peaceful silence around him, it was hard to imagine such an abomination of nature had just passed by.

'Whatever it was if we do come face to face I'm gonna kill it' Hazard thought with a snarl. Now that the numbing horror had passed a familiar rage had taken its place and Hazard wanted now to cleanse this place of the cancer that creature represented.

'_It made us weak and for that it must die' _

Hazard didn't know if that was his own thought but he agreed with it regardless. Shaking his head to dispel his anger he sniffed around for the girls scent and once he found it hurried off deeper into the woods.

'Perhaps the tentacle girl knows what that thing was?'

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'We told you you should have taken a left'

"Unity we're in the middle of the woods! There aren't any crossroads here to even chose between left or right!"

'Then maybe you should have asked for directions' Unity said snootily.

"Who the hell could I have asked for directions Unity?" Hazard yelled as he kicked a nearby log, smashing it into fragments in his annoyance.

'There was a zombie a mile or so back' Unity suggested with a hint of a laugh in its voice.

Hazard rolled his eyes and glared around him irritably. The trail had fallen here after Hazard had been chasing the girl's scent for maybe five miles. Now he was left in the middle of nowhere, in a hostile wood, and with no idea where to go.

'Perhaps we should turn around Hazard, Unity carefully suggested, we can follow your own scent back to the mansion then plan another route from there'

Hazard nodded as he covered his eyes with a claw, 'god this had started off so well'.

He had planned to meet the girl again and hopefully have a better second meeting, perhaps even hang out together for awhile, maybe get to know each other's names at least.

But now he had lost the scent and was in a foul mood again. He was also hungry and thirsty, (as he skipped eating anything so quick was his dash from the mansion) and he was increasingly aware of how much he was starting to smell.

"Well that's what blood covered clothes do when unwashed Hazard they go stinky" he mumbled to himself.

'There's probably a working bath somewhere in that big house Hazard' Unity said without worry.

Hazard nodded again and uncovered his eyes. He glanced around him one more time just trying to enjoy being in a world of green before he turned and prepared to retrace his steps and spend another hour trying to get back to the mansion.

But as he lifted a foot to take his first step his ears twitched as it began to filter in that the silence forest was not, in fact, silent.

He shut his eyes for concentration and after a few moments he realised he could faintly hear running waters nearby, perhaps a stream or even a river.

'Hey that'd be a result. Perhaps I can even take a bath' Hazard though cheerfully as he blundered into the woods again, now following his ears not his nose.

The thought of a source of fresh, hopefully pure, water was appealing enough but Hazard also wondered if this river could be followed alone its length and eventually lead to the same flow of water that was underground near the tentacle girls home.

'Hey it's worth a shot' Unity said in agreement.

Hazard remained silent as he traced the noise in an effort to find its source. He suspected he had been wandering for around ten minutes, becoming increasingly frustrated as the noise kept changing direction and pitch, before he finally found something worth the all the searching.

Hazard blinked rapidly and squinted as he gazed at the blackness before him, "A cave?" he said in question as he peered into the hole in a large hillside.

Hazard eyed it for a little longer then felt his hopes soar as he realised that this could very well lead to the underground sewer caves themselves.

'And to her…'

The thought was enough to send him striding into the darkness, his eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness as he picked his way through the increasingly wet rocks and slick lichen that covered them.

He made about five feet and felt certain he was going in the right direction considering how many little rivets of water were flowing down the passage and soaking his feet.

He glanced back at the open cave mouth behind him, getting a good photo image of sunlight in his mind before continuing underground.

'I may be down here for awhile… especially if I get lost' Hazard thought with a weak chuckle

'Unfortunately very likely'

'Shut up Unity'

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Lisa yawned widely as she felt her consciousness slowly awaken from a deep sleep, her mind pleasantly fuzzy and happily rested after a prolonged healing sleep.

The female Tyrant ducked her head towards her cuffs, curling up into a ball under her warm quilts so she could reach her hands. She lazily swiped and rubbed at her eyes cleaning the morning gunk out and helping her stay awake as her amber eyes blinked rapidly in the dark.

Satisfied that she could see Lisa threw off her covers, half-wincing in fear of pain, and sat upright on her bed stretching towards the ceiling as she let loose a content murmur.

Her tentacles stretched to their full length, a good two meters each, as she worked out the kinks in her body. Rolling her shoulders she also thrust her hands forward, grunting slightly against the weight of her cuffs, to stretch her arms as lifting them above her head was too uncomfortable to do unless in battle.

'And once again I feel as fresh as a daisy' Lisa thought with a smile, copying a phrase her mother said often, as her body felt blessedly free of any pain. All her injuries from yesterday fully healed and a comfortable tingle made her shiver and mewl, a side effect of all the natural drugs that would flood her systems for the next hour or so due to such an intensive regeneration.

She swept her gaze across her bedroom for anything out of the ordinary, more due to enforced habit then real concern as nothing would dare enter her home.

Everything was fine and Lisa gave a content sigh as she felt back onto her bed, quietly giggling to herself as she rolled about in her sheets.

'I really enjoy these moments after a battle… one good thing about my mutation I guess' Lisa thought giddily.

However as the memories of yesterday returned it quickly became clear to the girl that it was more then the post-healing high that was making her feel so good today.

"He said thank you" Lisa whispered to herself as she remembered that ever so warming yell that the purple nuisance did yesterday.

The relief and joy she felt was making her snicker and hug herself in almost forgotten excitement, her eyes shining with mirth as she arched up from her pillow and shrieked "HE SAID THANK YOU!" before falling back in a burst of laughter.

Ted was smiling too; obviously enjoying his owners' good mood, as a tentacle coiled tenderly around the old teddy and brought it against Lisa's chest who cuddled it happily.

Lisa couldn't remember being so full of girlish happiness. She couldn't stop her giggling as she kept recalling Hazards words in her head.

His voice so full of joy and thankfulness, his eyes shining with glee and a wide smile on his lips. It had been so good to see that Lisa wished she had stepped out from the corner and tried to talk to him again instead of hiding and sneaking peeks at him.

'Well perhaps today will be different, perhaps today I'll finally get to say hi properly'

Lisa let loose another happy sigh as she threw Ted into the air and caught him as he fell, repeating the action several times as she relived every moment she and Hazard had shared thus. True most had been during fights, either against each other or as allies, but those few sweet moments, such as just after waking up in his room, brought a toothy grin to her face.

She caught Ted and tenderly laid him down on the bed, giving him a chaste kiss on his stitched lips before rolling out of her bed. She quickly adjusted to the cuff, (it was now practically instinctual as she never thought about what she was doing) and began to get dressed and prepare for the day ahead.

She sorted through her limited selection of clothing, all of it greyed and ragged with age, some brown, some green, (the colour not due to rot) and one even a burnished red.

She paused as she held up the red dress and examined it carefully. Though aged it was still in good condition and the sleek redness and soft touch made it Lisa's sorta 'party' clothing.

She closed her eyes, indulging in a common fantasy, as she imagined herself wearing that beautiful dress in the mansion hall. Except now soft music filled the grand hall and numerous couples, dressed in equal finery, slowly danced around the hall.

And Lisa herself was amongst them and she was dancing too, her body though was free of mutation and she looked divine in her red dress as a faceless man twirled her around as she simply enjoyed the feeling of being held and dancing softly to equally gentle music.

With a shake of her head the fantasy broke and she reverently put the red dress back, no she couldn't wear that today, ('Or any day' a sad whisper said within Lisa')

She picked up another more familiar garment, one of her tattered rags, and held it up for examination. The dress itself was, naturally, ripped and torn at the back to allow her tentacles free rein to move. Covered in stitches holding it together it whispered a message of constant repair by Lisa over the years.

Lisa wrinkled her nose at the smell the rags were emanating. She remembered then that this particular item was what she was wearing yesterday when those wretched Hunters ambushed her.

'And saved by Hazard…' the thought distracting Lisa for a few seconds before she focused on the task at hand.

She sniffed again and with a weary sigh decided it was time to clean these clothes. It wasn't that she didn't do it often, unlike the other members of the mansion she prided herself on being reasonably clean, it was just she hated the cold boring trek through the underground tunnels to the river.

She glanced down at her own naked body, morbidly wondering if she would ever run out of room for scars on her pale skin, and sniffed distastefully as she saw all the blood and filth that coated her flesh. The soft candlelight of her room making it appear like blackened mud on her faintly yellow skin.

"Guess all of us should get a wash" she said with tired acceptance.

She glanced back at her bed and her lips quirked into a half-smile, "Even you, you little beast" the female Tyrant said with a chuckle as she scooped up Ted and put him in an old sack.

She quickly bundled her sheets and some clothing into the sack, threw a simple grey, (it was once white) linen shift over her nakedness and turned towards the watery passage between her bedroom and the rest of the tunnels.

She hummed a half-remembered tune as she waded through the water, the liquid rising to her waist and freezing but after so long Lisa barely noticed.

She felt a ripple in the water that was not her own and glanced down, immediately hissing in warning at the small snake that was swimming lazily towards her.

The thin, but long, reptile looked up at her with an insolent gleam in its slitted eyes. It hissed back, bared its fangs, continued to swim towards her, obviously intent to get by Lisa, and not at all concerned by the mutant.

Lisa watched it approach through narrowed eyes, the arrogance of its movements and its lack of fear clear indicators that it was young and had never encountered her before.

'Wish I knew how that monster keeps making these beasts' Lisa thought in disgust for the giant predator who was mother to this intruder.

The snake was within a foot of her now and seeing that Lisa had not moved it bared its fangs and hissed quietly, shifting about carefully before her as it prepared to spring forward.

"I'm only saying it once, back off or die," Lisa said, quiet and threatening, more annoyed then threatened by the pathetic creature.

The snake merely hissed loudly in response, its tone outraged at being challenged, and lunged for her, fangs dripping with venom, as it flew towards Lisa's throat.

Quick as thought a tentacle slashed across its path and a sharp pain flared across Lisa's senses causing her to snarl in growing anger. The snake hissed and spat as it chewed on the tentacle that had blocked its path, driving its fangs in deeper and injecting poison into the pink tentacle.

Lisa lifted her tentacle so that the snake was hanging downwards at eye level before her. Her narrowed eyes meeting the snakes as it continued to bite and seeing a dim, but growing, fear as the snake realised its poison was having no effect on the creature it was biting.

Lisa sneered at it, enjoying the stupid animals' primitive fear, before darted her head forward and biting deep into the snakes' length.

The snake let go with a shriek as Lisa's fangs easily tore through its flesh, its dark greenish blood flowing over the sides of her lips as Lisa ripped through bone and organs as easily as soft fruit.

The snakes' shriek ended with a gurgle as blood flowed from its mouth and it went limp as it dangled from Lisa's mouth like loose spaghetti. The Tyrant chewing hard to ensure its demise then spitted the rank meat from her mouth in disgust.

"Serves you right" She hissed as the snakes' body fell to the water with a small splash and floated pathetically past her. The girl watching it pass for a few moments then looking back at the water, tutting to herself as she saw the green trails that covered her lower face and began to wipe at them with her tentacles.

But as she cleared the gunk from her face a frown creased her brow as she began to notice something odd about her appearance. She stared at her reflection for a few more moments then her eyes widened in horror, panic and terror filling the amber orbs as Lisa's mouth opened in a silent scream.

With a sharp cry the girl twisted round as she lunged towards her bedroom and began to race back the way she came. The chains and water slowing her down but Lisa's panicked pace easily compensating as she blasted through the water, great splashes drenching her as she kicked her legs forward as she moved.

At last she reached her bedroom again, the ten seconds seeming like ten minutes of horror to Lisa. She darted over to her dresser; sweat mixing with the water on her body as she began to whine in terror, and with shaking hands reached forward.

And picked up her mask.

And put it on.

Lisa froze for a few moments as the familiar veil covered her face then, as the panic faded, her whole body sagged with relief as she reached forward with a trembling hands towards the dresser to steady herself.

'I can't believe I forgot it' Lisa thought in amazement as she began to chuckle, the sound occasional broken by wet sniffling.

She patted the skin of the mask for reassurance and looked into her dresser mirror again, finding comfort in the many faces before her and in her eyes being the only sign of 'her' in the reflection.

"Don't do that again Lisa" the Tyrant whispered to herself as she stared at her reflection. She couldn't believe she had almost gone out without her mask.

Or that she had actually seen-

'No! Don't think about it! I'm a monster and monsters hide their ugliness just like I'm supposed to!'

Lisa muttered venomously to herself as she sorted herself out then start her journey again. Wading through the waters she reminded herself that she wore the mask for a reason.

'The monsters won't be scared of a freak, the mask is scary not the face underneath' Lisa repeated to herself as she entered the tunnels.

She continued her journey towards the underground river hoping by the time she got there she would have blanked the incident out of her memory like she had done for everything else in her life.

After all she had been doing it for over two decades, a little incident like this would be forgotten in an hour or so.

"I'm going for a wash and I'll forget all about it" Lisa said firmly and she forced images and feelings into her mind to blot out the burning panic of earlier, imagining herself having a nice wash and coming out refreshed and full of plans for the day.

'Plans for Hazard… maybe have some idea what to do next about him' Lisa thought with mixed anticipation and fear. Well perhaps not fear… maybe just a little nervous?

Lisa winced as a drip of water fell from the tunnel roof, the stinging cold making her shiver and she glared up irritably at dripping ceiling.

"At least the cold's gonna make me forget" Lisa muttered, though internally feeling relief, as she walked on through the tunnels towards her 'spa'.

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Hazard whooped as he leap from the top of the rusted elevator, the air whistling through his ears and tugging at his hair as gravity gripped him and he fell in graceful dive. The cold of the air making him shiver for a few seconds, Goosebumps rising from his naked body, before he hit the water and every nerve of his skin let loose a shrill shriek of surprise as the ice cold lake welcomed him into its depths.

'Fuck its cold!' Hazard yelled in his thoughts as he curled up in a ball and felt himself sink, the force of the current pulling him back a few feet before he tapped against the rocky floor.

'What did you expect hazard? A heated spa perhaps?' Unity said with scorn and amusement, his voice shaking slightly as if he was freezing too.

'Well in a way he is' Hazard mused before uncurling himself and floating gently underwater. His arms stretched out at his sides and legs half tucked under him as he experienced the pleasant sensation of weightlessness. His tail waved like a long serpent behind him helping to keep him in place as Hazards golden eyes looked around him in wonder.

A few bubbles of air escaped his nostrils but he felt not the slightest discomfort as he turned gently underwater. Spinning in a lazy three-sixty as he gazed around at the rocks under him and the seemingly endless black-blue water around him.

'How long I been under now without air?' he wondered in amazement as he scratched at the floor with his taloned feet, watching with interest the smoky silt that drifted up with the action and the tiny fish that darted away from their hiding places.

'We believe that the Virus gives you a much greater ability to store oxygen within your lungs' Unity said with careful consideration as Hazard began to swim around excitedly.

'Hey! Watch this' Hazard thought and curled up slightly before pushing forward with all the strength of his limbs and with a powerful flick of his tail. His eyes shone with delight as he shot forward like a bullet from a gun, his powerful thrust propelling him through the water for a good distance before he started stroking again.

'This is great!' Hazard swam in long circles as he experienced the joy of swimming, the cold of the water no longer a concern as he danced around as gracefully as a dolphin within the water.

'Just be careful for anything in here ok? We don't know what predators exist in the waters here' Unity said warningly.

Hazard flipped under the water, quickly changing direction with a powerful thrust of his tail before executing a flawless twist and spinning to face an imaginary assailant, 'Let them come' Hazard thought brazenly as he flexed his claws and slashed them through the water.

'Do not get overconfident Hazard. Remember the crimson' Unity said gravely.

Hazard scowled as he remembered the stairs and pouted as he spun round and swam slowly backwards, 'You're no fun' he mentally whined.

Unity chuckled, 'why do we need to be funny when you do all the entertainment for us?'

Hazard laughed, and immediately regretted it as water poured into his mouth. He quickly expelled the fluid and clamped down hard on what oxygen was left in his lungs but now he was beginning to feel tight in the chest.

'Perhaps its time to surface?' Unity said dryly as Hazard choked.

'Ya think?' Hazard bunched up again and did another 'super tail-thrust!' as he called it and very soon he broke the surface of the water and took a deep, oh so sweet breath of fresh air.

Wiping at his eyes and paddling to keep himself afloat the young Tyrant looked around him still feeling a little strange being back in this place. But then he had told himself he would have to come back here at some point hadn't he?

After entering the cave in the forest he had followed the watery tunnel he had entered for almost an hour, going deeper and deeper into the darkness and tracing the steadily rising stream of water at his feet.

'Good thing I can sort of see in the dark or I'd have been terrified' Hazard thought with a shiver as he remembered the fearful silence of that long tunnel.

'And he was blessed with eyes of gold, Unity quoted, and against those eyes the darkness had no power. Fleeing back before the light that shone from those glowing orbs'

Hazard tilted his head, mentally peering at Unity, 'Where'd you… I… read that?' he asked.

'Just made it up now' Unity answered with a chuckle.

Hazard rolled his eyes before looking up above at the large hole in the ceiling that a steady stream of water fell from. Though it was tiny compared to the massive waterfall that fed the lake hazard was swimming in the current of that was enough to have dragged hazard down here.

The Tyrant clicked his tongue as he recalled considering turning round and heading back to daylight before he had put a foot down wrong and slipped into the stream, his curse cut off by the rush of water as the stream eagerly claimed him within its wet embrace.

'It was a little awkward to walk through but I never guessed its current had grown to such an extent by then' Hazard thought with embarrassment. After slipping into the stream, which at that point was waist high, he had been effortlessly swept away and any attempt to right himself and stand had been squashed by the roaring water.

Thankfully Hazard only suffered a few seconds of panic before he reached the hole and fell down into the underground cavern. His screaming entrance now making him grimace as he imagined what it must have looked like to anyone who saw. A peaceful underground lake, its tranquil waterfalls and roaring waters, and then some strange screaming creature falling from the ceiling and breaking the spell of serenity.

'Well next time we'll remember the current' Unity said dismissively as Hazard began to swim small circles of the water surface.

"Suppose its good my clothes already got soaked or I might have reconsidered having a bath, considering how COLD this water is" Hazard said ruefully as he glanced back at the wooden platform, the landing site for the elevator between the two sewer levels, and seeing his clothes hanging up on an old rusted cable slowly drying.

'You're not feeling the cold now Hazard' Unity pointed out and Hazard just grunted in reply.

The Tyrant studied the surrounding areas for a few moments checking for enemies, also wondering if perhaps the tentacle girl would come by, before deciding to take another dive.

'Hey if she comes then hopefully the weirdness of our situation might make her ease up a bit' Hazard considered as he disappeared under the water with a flick of his tail.

'Now, Hazard though with a fanged grin, just how fast are those fish?'

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Lisa sighed in relief as she entered her 'washroom', the underground cave long being a place for her to wash, drink, and see to other bodily needs.

She breathed deep of the misty air enjoying the cleansing feeling of water vapour in her lungs clearing away the gunk in her throat.

She stepped into the room, her eyes glancing momentarily at the ancient elevator, before she walked across the platform heading towards the lower level and the shallow pool of water that grew there.

She went by without noticing the new features in the room, the clothes hanging nearby the elevator and the hazy creature that raced around under the water were overlooked by Lisa's, normally, hyper sensitive sixth sense.

'What am I gonna do later? Should I visit him or go on with my usual routine?' Lisa thought in turmoil.

She knew after what happened yesterday she needed to make her mark again on the Hunters. To remind them just who was the dominant creature of this area and to stay the hell out of her domain. After all they had wounded her quiet badly yesterday and she couldn't risk them getting the idea that she was no longer the invincible predator that they feared.

'But should I see him while I'm on patrol?' Lisa wondered as she reached her 'pool'. The 'pool' was a small bath of water ringed by rocks that was on the edge of the river leading off of the lake down further underground. Thus creating a stable pool with no current yet was still fresh and clean due to the water that gently flowed through it.

She opened her ragged sack of clothes and hummed to herself as she dipped them into the water, the clear liquid clouding over as dirt and blood came free. Though without soap, (Which she ran out of over a year ago) it would take a lot of scrubbing to get the entire dirt off.

She picked up Ted and clicked her tongue as she saw the blood that had dried over him when she cuddled him in the night, "Look at you! All dirty and smelly. Well time to scrub and get you all pretty!" Lisa cooed as she kissed the doll.

She licked her lips, ('blood shouldn't be wasted whether mine or another's' she thought sagely) before lifting her arms and reaching for the hem of her shift with her tentacles. If she was going to take the next hour cleaning her clothes and friend then she should wash herself too!

It was only common sense after all.

The shift came free without trouble and Lisa didn't even shiver as her naked flesh was bared to the cold air and cool rocks she sat on. Her body long since accustomed to being uncomfortable for a long duration.

She sighed as she dipped her feet into the water, the cold liquid soothing her aching soles, and with barely a sound, and barely a ripple, she slipped into the water so that it covered her up to her shoulders.

Her veil of faces billowed around her as the water tugged it in different directions, its pulls like the soft touch of a meek child on a mother's skirt. Yet Lisa didn't dare remove it and she made sure to keep it clamped onto her head when she submerged her face to wash herself.

She spent maybe a minute just gently running her tentacles over herself with a cleaning scrap she brought with her, the course rag scratching her skin in a pleasant way as it removed clouds of reddish-brown dirt into the water, before her dulled senses finally began to growl as they sniffed the air and found something foreign.

Her amber eyes narrowed in suspicion, as she smelled a strangely familiar scent in the air. Her eyes darted around warily before they stopped on a line of clothes hanging on the elevator above her.

'They weren't there before' Lisa thought in alarm as she grabbed a floating dress and clutched it to her chest as her tentacles rose for battle. She began to slowly turn glaring around, peering into the shadows and rocky crevices for foes, and all the while thinking 'those clothes look familiar…'

She almost shrieked as a great fountain of water sprayed from the main lake on the other side of the platform across from her and her tentacles immediately scooped up several heavy rocks and held them ready. She scowled at the dissipating water waiting for whatever was there to be revealed so she could take a clear shot at the intruder.

A creature began to materialise as the water subsided and Lisa hefted a rock and snarled in outrage, 'Whatever it is it's gonna have a hole put in its skull!' she thought in a murderous rage.

Yet as Lisa reared her tentacle back to throw the creature before her turned, Lisa at last realising its skin was purple coloured, and its golden eyes were now resting on hers.

Those eyes showed confusion at first, not quite sure what they were seeing, then they widened in astonishment, and a little embarrassment, as they recognised Lisa.

The creature released a startled shriek as it sank under the water again, Lisa dimly understanding it was due to its own frozen state, and then quickly came up again, this time gently kicking to stay afloat. Its startled eyes still wide with amazement as they gazing back at her, slowly slipping down to stare wide-eyed at her bare breasts before snapping back to her eyes with a guilty expression.

Lisa knew she should be feeling anger at this point but she too was completely frozen, her tentacles shaking nervously as she stared back at those golden eyes that had captured her. She felt herself shiver and then remembered that her upper body had rose from the water so she could get a clear shot at the creature and that now her bare chest was easily viewable.

She felt the temperature under her mask reach boiling point, and she swore she could hear the hiss of steam rising from her mask as her cheeks burned bright pink in a panicked blush.

The other creature was blushing too, a strangely sweet pink tinge to his cheeks, as his eyes locked onto hers, his face visibly twitching with the urge to glance down again but fighting against it with all his resolve.

At last he cleared his throat and raised his claw in a little wave, "Hi?" Hazard said in a choked voice.

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Hazard erupted from the water with one powerful thrust of his tail and imagined himself as some kind of leviathan with the amount of water that burst into the air around him.

His lungs were burning but the heat quickly faded as Hazard opened his mouth wide and took a deep, cleansing breath of oxygen while still in mid-leap before crashing back down into the water.

'THREE MINUTES! I CAN STAY UNDER FOR THREE MINUTES!' Hazard shrieked in his mind, the euphoria of the accomplishment, and the light-headedness, making him giddy with joy as he broke surface again and wiped water from his eyes.

'I doubt we were meant to be an underwater weapon Hazard but your oxygen holding capacity is still very impressive' Unity said with a chuckle.

'Isn't it! Man swimming is great! I gotta come here every day if I can' Hazard thought happily as he cleared outs his eyes and blinked the last of the water out of them.

He coughed up some water, ('Yuck' Unity mock vomited) and decided that now was probably the right time to leave considering how wrinkled his skin was getting, 'It looks like a shrivelled lemon skin' Hazard thought in amusement.

He turned around deciding to head for the lower platform behind him, ('well it IS the only way out of this lake without scaling the cavern walls') but before he had made even one stroke in that direction he saw I sight so amazing that he froze completely.

And then choked as he went under the water, quickly kicking back to the surface and coughing up water before looking back at the amazing thing. This time remembering to tread water instead of sinking.

'Its… its her…' Hazard thought numbly as he stared at the tentacle girl who was also in the water on the other side of the platform. Completely naked except for the mask she wore and holding several rocks in her tentacles that she looked ready to throw.

Hazard felt the urge to dodge or babble apologies to prevent her from braining him with a well-aimed rock but all power of speech had left him and all he could do was stare back at her.

His eyes searched for hers amongst the horror of her veil, (Again Hazard felt no revulsion or fear as he looked over the mask, he simply ignored it) and he wasn't surprised to see that her amber eyes were wide too with astonishment, surprise, and just a hint of fear.

She was trembling and Hazard began to assemble some words in his mind to say to calm her down. The last thing he wanted was to scare her.

'_Look down'_

Hazards eyes dropped without realising and again his mind went blank with a 'guhhh…' as he saw the perfect breasts that rose from the water, rising and falling with a mesmerising tremble as the tentacle girl breathed.

They were just as beautiful as he remembered, perhaps more so as small droplets of glowing water dripped down the pink flesh, small and rounded, proudly pert and topped with hard pink nipples. They-were-perfect. Perfection personified.

'Hazard what are you doing? If you ogle her any longer she's going to kill us!' Unity shouted in accusation.

Hazard quickly snapped his gaze back to eye level and tried to fight back the guilty blush from his cheeks. Thankfully there wasn't any anger in the girls amber eyes just numb embarrassment.

'Oh crap, what do I do? What do I say?' Hazard thought in turmoil.

He thought faster then he ever had. In the next second several clear and concise sentences, each stating his apology for interrupting her bathing, for what else could she be here for? Were constructed and Hazard opened his mouth to spin a work of vocal art.

"Hi?" Hazard said in a weak whisper.

'That's it? Oh we are SO dead' Unity said fatalistically.

For a moment nothing happened. The girls' eyes remained as stolid and blank as before and Hazard began to fear something was really wrong with her.

But then the slight tremble in her body grew to a fierce shaking, a tremor of growing rage, and the amber eyes within the veil blazed with rising indignation.

She moved so fast that he barely dodged in time. Throwing the largest rock she carried at him with a shrill yell of outrage that was answered by Hazards scream as he splashed out of its way.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" Hazard roared as he kept thinking, 'if that rock hit my head I'd be dead now'.

The girls shoulders were rising and falling rapidly, (and so were her VERY distracting breasts) as she fought to keep her anger in control.

"What-are-you-doing-here!" she forced out through grinding teeth.

Hazard waved a hand at the lake they were both in; "I was having a swim and a wash until big rocks started falling from the sky"

Lisa thrust a tentacle accusingly at him, "You were spying on me!" she shrieked furiously.

Hazard blushed but met her smouldering glare with his own, "Hey I've been here for at least twenty minutes now. If anyone's spying its you" he countered.

The girl glared at him for a few more seconds before she huffed and sat down again hiding all but her head and shoulders from Hazards view, (Which were both a blessing and a curse to him) she turned her back on him and went back to cleaning her clothes, effectively dismissing him.

Hazard blinked at the sudden change in behaviour, 'ok that was weird' he thought in confusion.

'I think you've been dismissed Hazard' Unity said lightly.

"Hell with that" Hazard muttered, and noticed the girls head turn slightly then studiously return to her work.

He began to carefully swim forward keeping silent as he approached the platform between them. As he got closer he saw her shoulders stiffen in growing agitation and her hands scrub harder at the wet clothes around her.

Hazard propped his arms onto the platform, crossing them and resting his head on them as he gazed over at the silent girl. She was barely three meters away and Hazard had to stamp down the urge to just climb onto the platform and jump into her side of the pool.

'And if you did she'd probably kill you' Unity warned.

Hazard began to pick at the platform, digging a claw into the wood as he burrowed into it his whole manner nonchalant as he focused on his action.

"Thanks for returning my knife to me" Hazard said off-handily.

The girl remained silent.

"That water was pretty sweet too. Did you get it from here or is there another spring nearby?"

More silence but tension was growing in her shoulders.

Hazard grinned as his claw dug a groove into the wood, "So do other monsters come here or is this place used only by you?"

The girls' control snapped as she threw down her garment with a splash and hissed back, though without turning her head, "Why are you talking to me?"

Hazard shrugged, "I find our interactions exceptionally riveting. Besides no one else in this place has been very talkative here"

"Our 'interactions', she said the word with scorn, usually end with us fighting and injured"

Hazard chuckled, conceding the point, "Yeah but now we won't fight anymore so we can just talk, like we're doing now"

The girls' head turned and she stared at him from the corner of one amber eye, "What makes you think we won't fight?" she asked in a dangerous whisper, her tentacles starting to rise from the water ominously.

Hazard smiled shyly at her; not at all put off by her show of threat, "Because if you wanted me dead you wouldn't have saved my life" he quietly answered.

The amber eye watched him for a few moments before it rolled and she went back to scrubbing her clothes, "Foolish creature" she muttered in mild amazement.

Hazard grinned but didn't answer; just continued to watch her scrubbing at her clothes, the play of muscles on her slender shoulders… her pale soft looking skin…

'Hazard. Snap out of it' Unity grumbled.

Hazard covered his eyes suppressing a groan of dismay. What was it about this girl that made him feel so strange? She had tried to kill him a dozen times yet just being around her now made him feel so calm and relaxed that he wondered if his brain was damaged from all the knocks it had suffered.

He gazed back at her, this girl whose name he didn't even know, and racked his brain for more stuff to say. Someway to keep her talking cause he 'really' wanted to keep talking to this person.

"H-how's your body? I mean! You know, your wounds from yesterday, they ok? The bandages help at all?" Hazard stammered, inwardly wincing at his crap wording.

But still as he stared at the white scars that criss-crossed the tentacle girls' skin he couldn't help but ask that question.

The girl turned her head fully, tilting her gaze as she stared at Hazards meek expression, "My wounds have healed," she said matter-of-factly.

She turned back and Hazard felt himself slump, 'well THAT was a hell of an ice-breaker' he thought in disgust.

"The bandages did help a lot, the girls' voice gently drifted over to him, so… thank you for that"

Hazard blinked in surprise then rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Hey it was no biggie"

The girl turned fully, Hazard having to grit his teeth as he saw the shadow of the girls chest under the murky water, and examined him fully with her, now, inquisitive amber eyes.

"And you? Have you fully healed?" she asked with surprising, to Hazard anyway, concern.

Hazard grinned and flexed an arm, "Hey it'll take more then scaleys to take me down!" he boasted.

"They are called Hunters, and you risked death and consumption by fighting them" the girl said reproachfully.

Hazard blinked again, "Well I-" he began.

"Why did you challenge them? They outnumbered you more then four to one and still you fought why?" the girl pressed on.

"I would have thought that was obvious?" Hazard said quietly.

The girl tilted her head to the right and Hazard felt the need to emphasise, "You were in trouble… and I couldn't let you die like that" he stated calmly.

The girls' head righted itself and her eyes were piercing his as if she was searching for something in his eyes, perhaps deception or untruth? Eventually she found nothing dishonest with Hazard and clicked her tongue in disapproval.

"Then I thank you for that… but you're still a fool" she said lightly before dumping some wet clothes on the platform.

"Can I wear the official uniform then tentacle girl?" Hazard said in jest and grinned, but stopped when the girl shot him a 'look'.

'I'm getting familiar with those looks, Hazard thought, it's a 'I'm entertaining the thought of killing you' kind of look'

'Then lets hope she's only thinking of it not actually planning it' Unity said dryly.

Hazard looked down at the girls' hands and the item she was scrubbing now in a search for any topic to chat about.

His eyes squinted at what she held and he grinned widely as he realised it was a furry teddy bear, yellow-brown with age and with stitches for a smile and buttons for eyes.

It was pretty old and grisly yet seeing it confirmed Hazards steadfast belief that there was more to this girl then tentacles and a freaky veil.

"He's a cute little guy. What's his name?" Hazard asked politely.

For the first time the amber eyes that captivated him shone with a real happy emotion. She looked down at the teddy with nothing but love in her eyes and Hazard wished she took the veil off cause he knew she was smiling under those faces.

Still with smiling eyes she picked up the teddy in her cuffed hands and held him out for Hazard to inspect, "This is Ted, my best friend" she said brightly.

Then she did something amazing to Hazard. Her hands changed their grip and she was holding the toys paw between finger and thumb. "Say hello Ted, she chirped and then she waved the tiny bears arms back and forth in a little wave.

"Hello Hazard, I'm Ted! Pleased to meet'cha" The girl said in a squeaky voice, creating words for the silent doll.

Hazard couldn't help it he laughed out loud, a deep gut-wrenching chortle, as the sheer childish wonder of the scene before him made him feel like a boy himself, being introduced to a little girl and her imaginary friend.

He wiped tears from his eyes and smiled back at Lisa but he saw a sharp sadness in her eyes and he realised she thought he had been laughed 'at' her. 'Shit she was trying to be normal and it looks like I laughed in her face' Hazard thought furiously.

Before he could think not to he leaned over the platform and extended his arm across the gap between him and the girl. His clawed hand inching closer to her outstretched arms as she watched him carefully.

And with infinite care he took hold of Teds' tiny paw and gave it a hearty shake, "Pleased to meet you too Ted. May I say just how luvv-ly your fur looks today," Hazard said in a posh accent.

'The shot is taken, Hazard is racing out to catch it before it falls beyond his reach, can he make it!' Unity yelled.

Lisa blinked and stared for just a moment then in the childish voice replied, "Oh thank you mister Hazard! It takes a lot to keep my fur all nice and fresh"

'AND IT'S SAVED!' Unity shrieked.

Hazard grinned, "Well you're doing a good job Mr Ted, may I call you Mr Ted?" Hazard made a show of sniffing his arm then retching, "As you can smell sir its much harder for me to keep as clean as you"

Hazard then clasped his claws as if in prayer, "Oh Ted please tell me your secret! How do I get myself smelling as sweet and lovely as you do? Please do not leave this poor lowly boy smelling of poo for the rest of his life" Hazard beseeched the doll.

And then a heavenly sound was coming from the girl and Hazard realised with delight that she was giggling. It was only a short burst of sound, barely a few seconds before the girl realised what she was doing and clamped down on it, but those few seconds were divine to Hazard.

"Wash regularly mister Hazard, of by-tea-way you can call me Mr Ted, and make sure to change clothes often like my friend Lisa does" The girl chirped in the 'teddy' voice.

Hazard froze and his eyes widened in surprise as he stared at the girls eyes, her own amber orbs realising their slip-up and the girl began to tremble slightly as Hazard picked himself up on his arms and watched her carefully.

"You're Lisa?" he whispered in half-disbelief.

Silence from the girl but the trembling increased.

"You are Lisa aren't you!" Hazard asked again in excitement as he reached for her, the tip of a claw brushed across her own finger.

'Lisa' shrieked and snatched her hands back as if burned by Hazards touch. Her eyes flashed and a tentacle slashed across Hazards' vision and he found himself being thrown back with a splash back into his own side of the lake.

He submerged and choked as water rushed into his open mouth before he broke surface again, the purple Tyrant retching to clear his lungs before looked back towards Lisa with shocked eyes.

Except the girl wasn't there.

He heard a crash and his eyes darted up to the second level platform above him as he saw Lisa scrabbling over the edge with frenzied desperation. He realised she must have climbed onto the lower platform and jumped for the other while he was under water.

'Man that's one hell of a jump' Unity whistled in admiration.

"LISA WAIT!" Hazard yelled as he rushed onto the lower platform and raced for the ladder leading up. Not caring about his nakedness at the moment only trying to catch up with Lisa and… talk… or something! Just stop her from running away and leaving him alone again.

'She's scared Hazard, don't do anything rash' Unity gently advised.

Lisa had managed to climb the edge and was now standing on the platform above looking down at him, his pleading yell making her pause as she watched the purple Tyrant scale the ladder.

Hazard stopped as he stared back, his eyes and thoughts scrambled as he gazed at her slender naked body… god she was beautiful.

Lisa thrust her head forward and squared her shoulders in a display of fury as she shouted down at him, "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" before turning and racing towards the exit. Her chains clinking and rustling with her hurried steps and leaps before the sound of a door slamming echoed in the chamber.

'I'm not losing her' Hazard thought in determination and he scaled the ladder with maniacal speed and hurried after the girl, pausing only to dress himself and grab his weapons before throwing open the exit door and following Lisa into the tunnels.

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Lisa was sobbing when she reached her bedroom and threw herself onto her sheets in a tearful, wet mess. The sound of her crying filled the small cave as she beat at her pillows in anger.

'DAMMIT WHY'D I HAVE TO LET SLIP MY NAME!' she wondered furiously.

And with a little terror. He now knew her name. He knew who she was… what else would he find out about her?

She was honest enough with herself to know why she hit him and ran. Having someone call her by name, even having her name spoken aloud had been too scary, too haunting.

Too real.

She had been burying her past behind iron walls of forgetfulness inside her own head. She hoped, (And deeply feared) that one day she'd look in a mirror and not recognise her true face, that she'd even begin to believe that the veil 'was' her real face.

That her name was just a meaningless word, that she'd read her diary or look at an old photo and feel nothing but maybe a slight confusion.

'Only then can the pain stop, I won't feel sad or alone anymore because I won't understand such emotions' was a wish Lisa had been praying for for years now, an end to her pain, an escape.

'Not that I haven't tried suicide' Lisa thought with a grim smile, 'but a painful death sucks when you wake up a day later and have to be in agony for a week until you fully recover'

So suicide had been out. Her own body refused to die no matter how much Lisa demanded it to, and she had 'really' tried to force it to give up.

So forgetting 'Lisa' and all the pain and suffering 'Lisa' had was the only other option.

But then 'he' turned up and brought back all that pain she had been trying so hard to forget. Bad enough he made her talk and feel emotion again now he could call her by name and cut open her scars with just a four-letter word.

'I should have killed him in the treehouse, then none of this would have happened!' that wild part of her hissed in Lisa's mind.

'But it would have been wrong, he was too young and innocent that it would have hurt more to kill him then any others' Lisa argued.

'So! If he was dead then we could go back to forgetting!' that part of her argued.

'But then I'd forget him… and I'm not sure I can do that now' she thought with a resigned sigh.

It was then her ears twitched and she rose her head as she heard something gingerly wading through the water tunnel between her bedroom and 'playroom'.

Lisa felt her tentacles rise and her heartbeat quicken in readiness for a battle, the creature approaching could be any of a thousand enemies and laying apathetically on her bed sobbing into her pillow would make her easy prey.

Yet even as she prepared to fight she realised that it could only be one person and she lay down again with her head turned away towards the wall and pulled a sheet over her naked body.

'What are you doing? It could tear you apart!' the wild part screamed.

'It's Hazard' Lisa answered quietly.

'Then he could tear us apart!'

'He won't' Lisa answered with sad confidence. Killing helpless creatures wasn't something he did… only she did that.

The wild part was silent for a moment then it whispered darkly, 'He could do the other thing to you… one that hurts more then any wound those monsters can inflict and its scars 'never' heal'

Lisa went silent as she thought about that… would he do 'that'?

She heard someone enter her room and stand silent as it stared at her curled up body beneath the sheets. Just her covered head and tentacles were out of the sheets and as it stalked quietly up to her bed she felt herself begin to shake.

'Would he do that?'

The other person knelt beside her bed and she felt its presence lean over her. A clawed hand gently touched her shoulder, the hard bone on bare skin making her freeze in terror.

'Would he do that?'

'No… no he wouldn't do that, Lisa thought with iron-strong belief as the creature's other hand moved over her.

"You dropped someone important" Hazard whispered in her ear as he placed Ted next to her.

"Thank you" Lisa whispered as she reached out and cuddled the teddy close to her.

"You're welcome Lisa" Hazard answered softly before he rose and stepped away, for an instant Lisa feared he would leave but then she heard him settle down on a chair and get comfortable.

'Maybe… it won't be so bad… to have him know my name' Lisa thought with an odd smile on her lips before the panic and fear faded away leaving her feeling tired and weak.

She didn't last a five seconds before she was asleep, her eyes softly shut and mouth open slightly as she breathed slowly. Her Ted held tight in her arms as she curled up like a child in her bed.

And not once did her instincts awake her or trouble her sleep with the fear of sleeping in the presence of something.

Because that presence was Hazard.

And he wouldn't hurt her… ever.

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'You know… for someone whose only been alive-what?- three days? I've had one HELL of a hectic life thus far' Hazard thought with an amazed shake of his head as he watched Lisa sleep in her bed. Though he could only really see the bulge of her curled body under her sheets she was still cute to him. Mainly due to the sweet little snores and sighs she was making.

'Well Hazard we for one wouldn't want to trade it. Though we've suffered we've also enjoyed quite a bit here… and of course we both enjoy Lisa's company' Unity beamed.

Hazard glanced at his reflection in the dress mirror, wondering idly if Lisa thought him attractive, then blushed and went back to pawing through the tabletop items.

'I don't know why… but I feel there's more to my feelings for Lisa then just liking her because she's the only person I know. Sounds stupid but there you go' Hazard thought as he turned a bottle of spray in his claws.

'We don't think you're stupid Hazard, to be honest we feel something for Lisa too" Unity replied soberly.

Hazard placed the bottle down and picked up one of the photo frames that dotted the room, the one on the desk showing a happy child, perhaps six or seven, running around a park or garden. Hazard smiled as he had done last time he looked at this photo.

'This is her when she was a kid' Hazard thought in wonder as he looked at the little girls happy smile and beaming eyes. He wondered if that child was still there in Lisa and if that smile ever graced her hidden lips at all.

'Well after what happened with Ted we believe she is still child-like, Unity paused for thought, thought being here alone with no other company would have caused serious problems for her'

'Imagine it Hazard. A child forced to survive in these world, she'd have be logical and ruthless yet under it all the child still remains… a child that perhaps has yet to become an adult despite her age' Unity continued to press its point.

'I can imagine it, Hazard replied with a pitying expression, but that also makes me wonder just how old she is?'

He carefully put the photo down and picked up the other, the one that showed Lisa's parents Trevor and Jessica.

Trevor was a very serious looking man and probably possessed a intelligent mind yet his eyes also had a great deal for love for the woman and child at his side.

Jessica was a beautiful woman and Hazard found himself glancing between the mother and the sleeping daughter, he knew that parent and child shared characteristics so perhaps Lisa looked like the gorgeous woman in the photo?

Maybe… probably not. For all he knew her features might be changed by the virus within her just like his body had been. It was a good reason for why she wore a covering over her head all the time.

And yet…

Her body was so perfect, so beautiful, and with bright eyes and a musical voice he found he just couldn't fathom that her face would be deformed or indeed anything wrong with it.

He looked back at the sleeping girl and knew that even if her face was warped he'd still care for her… but the simple truth was he 'knew' that she was just as beautiful underneath the veil as any other human. The only problem would be convincing her to remove that veil.

'Not gonna be easy Hazard' Unity warned.

'Got that right' he replied as he put the photo down and then found his gaze going to the little box surrounded by candles in the bottom right of the room. The box that had all the information Hazard needed about what had happened to Lisa.

Hazard snorted and gave his head a dull thump with his palm. He couldn't believe that after all the evidence of this room and the one connected to it he had never clicked that the 'tentacle girl' was in fact the child Lisa that he believed lived here.

'It just never occurred to me… after our first meeting and having to make a run through the woods and then finding the mansion I completely forgot about it'

'We had a lot more serious stuff to think about then Hazard' Unity said with a shiver as it recalled the crimson and Hunters.

Hazard frowned, 'yeah but I met her several times and I never stopped to ask questions, hell I probably wouldn't have thought about it at all until she let slip her name downstairs'

The Tyrant sighed and stood up, stretching his arms and tails with a groan then pacing around the room in boredom. He was wondering what to do next, perhaps grab something to eat or go for a pee ('I really need one') but he didn't want to leave the sleeping girl alone.

It was as he stopped and mulled this over that a quiet voice asked, "What are you holding there?"

Hazard shrieked and whirled round in surprise. He blushed as he met the amused eyes of Lisa who was sitting up on her bed with her sheets held tight to her chest, her head tilted to the right as she examined him.

"U-uh you're parents I think, um this photo" Hazard stuttered and held it out for her to take. Lisa stared at it for a few moments before dropping her eyes, "Put it back," she said coldly.

Hazard frowned but complied and once done he stood with claws on hips calmly meeting her gaze as she looked back up and watched him carefully.

"So what now?" she asked with a hint of aggression, her amber eyes bright with suspicion.

Hazard shook a claw at her; "First you calm down and get that aggression out of your system Lisa. If I wanted a fight I'd have started one long ago"

Lisa scowled but nodded at him.

"Secondly I… I'm not sure really what happens now. I've only been alive three days and to be honest I could probably use a bit of direction" he asked timidly.

The girl ducked her head as if thinking then looked back up at him with a determined expression, "Get out" she barked.

Hazard blinked not at first certain he had heard her right, then scowled back at her in rising indignation.

"Oh that's just great ain't it! I help you out, I, once again, think we're making a connection and you tell me to piss off again well let me just say Lisa that this is the last time! I'm not gonna help you ever a-"

Hazard yelped as something bounced off his head and he caught it before it hit the floor. He blinked stupidly at Teds' button eyes and smiling face before looking up at Lisa who was glaring at him impatiently.

"I-mean! Get out so I can get dressed then we'll talk" she said forcibly.

Hazard glanced between the teddy in his hands and then at Lisa's growing amused expression, "But I thought-" he started nervously.

Lisa waved a tentacle at him, "You got it wrong, no problem" she said calmly.

"You could have said 'I need to get dressed' instead of just 'get out' Lisa" Hazard said huffily.

And now there was a hint of a smile in Lisa's eyes as she turned her head and watched him with a mischievous expression, "But if I said that I wouldn't get to see you all riled up Hazard" she said with a giggle.

Hazard stared for a moment then stared upwards and clasped his hands together, "Oh thank you god you've given her a sense of humour, however droll, thankyou-thankyou-thankyou!"

Lisa snorted but her eyes still showed amusement, "Just go upstairs and wait for me" she said impatiently, and then added in after-thought, "Help yourself to some deer up there if you want"

Hazard grinned and bowed to her, "I obey your commands as always my queen" before turning tail, (literally) and climbing the ladder out of Lisas' bedroom and making his way to the cabin above.

Lisa watched him go and once she heard the trapdoor open and shut, and certain he wasn't listening in, she fell back onto her bed giggling like the child she had once been.

She hummed to herself and felt her sides ache from the, long-forgotten, laughter before rolling out of bed and padding over to her dresser and draws. She still continued to hum happily as she picked through her clothes, unconsciously putting aside her best garments as her choices of clothing.

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Hazard paced back and forth before the fire wondering how long she was going to take, "Do all girls take more then ten minutes just to get changed?" Hazard yelled in accusation to the universe.

'Yes they do' was its silent answer and the Tyrant snorted and threw another log on the small inferno that he had made.

The flames billowed as they devoured the new fuel, Hazard stared for a few moments before snapping out of it, and continuing his pacing…there was something strangely hypnotic about fire.

He raised the bone he carried to his mouth and gnawed on it for lack of anything better to do. Eating raw meat straight from a several day carcass hadn't been too bad, even kind-of invigorating as he slurped up the blood and chewed the hard meat.

'Good thing I have this body or I'll be dead by tomorrow by food poisoning' Hazard mused as he cracked the bone in half and sucked at the marrow within.

'Though you'll probably have horrendously smelly farts and excrement' Unity said with revulsion.

Hazard paused in mid slurp, his eyes crossing as he eyed the bone he was chewing, 'aw hell with it' he thought then started biting again in earnest.

"Does it taste nice?" a silky-quiet voice asked from behind him, Hazard turned and immediately went 'guhhh' as his brain seized up.

Lisa was standing on the small flight of stairs looking over him in amusement as Hazard stared back numbly. As she walked ghostly silent down the steps he couldn't stop his eyes following every movement with devout attention.

Lisa was wearing a white shift, truly white and as gentle looking as silk, that hugged her body and hung like robes just above her feet, her little dainty feet.

Hazard gulped as he saw the swellings of her breasts pushing out against the material enticingly and the perfect figure of her hips accented by the dress. The fact that the garment was semi see-through didn't help matters much.

'She's so beautiful' Hazard thought in wonder.

He realised he had been staring for too long when Lisa cocked her head to the side and began to tap her foot in impatience. He swallowed hard then quickly looked away mumbling something along the lines of "Nice dress" as he stepped over to the fire and threw another log into it.

The blaze of flames that almost scorched his eyebrows was highly successful at clearing his head.

"Do you always burn your eyebrows off before having dinner with someone?" Lisa asked with a short chuckle as she dragged an old rug from behind the stairs.

"Its my way of breaking the ice" Hazard painfully joked as he rubbed at his smoking hair, 'Hope it grows back' he thought as he felt his eyebrows to be very thinned.

Lisa laid out the rug in front of the fire and took a seat, motioning for Hazard to do the same. The Tyrant sat cross-legged finding the worn rug to be surprisingly soft, "So what now?" he asked once he was comfortable.

Lisa's amber eyes matched the glow her body had taken due to the flames, "Now we talk, and by the end of it maybe you'll begin to understand just what a messed up place you chose to be born in" she said ominously.

And then Lisa began her story. A story of a girl, changed into a monster, and forced to survive in a nightmarish world. She talked of the clans and the monsters that lived here and how it was possible to survive amongst them.

And most importantly she talked of humans.

Of the evil of humans.

And of the evil of a corporation named 'Umbrella'.

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The Hunter remained silent as he watched the boar drink from the pool, the cousin to the common pig watching the area around it with darting eyes and twitching ears.

It would bend its neck and gulp down a mouthful of water before snapping its head back and looking around wildly for predators. Its nervous antics something the creatures of the forest had learned to employ after the mutated beasts of the mansion flooded the surrounding lands.

The Hunters yellow eyes watched the boar carefully but strangely not in readiness for a powerful lunge that would bring him within striking distance. Oh no he had something else planned for this boar, something that would help him greatly in the future.

For the Hunter was merely an observer of this pool and the prey here… he was waiting for 'her'.

He had lived for a long time in this forest, his senses were tuned to the rhythm and flow of the woods, and it was this that that made him tense in anticipation as he sensed her approach.

She couldn't be sensed by smell, sight or hearing until she was right upon you, her colossal body more stealthy then even the Chimeras. No it was the almost supernatural feeling that tinged the air, the aura of death and danger that followed her wherever she went.

If he had had hair on the back of his neck it would have been standing up as warning of what was coming. For a reptilian body it began to tremble as its warning and the Hunter was quick to clamp down on the feeling lest he give away his position.

'The boar senses nothing' the Hunter thought in wonder and mockery. The whole world was screaming in terror, a higher creature like himself easily able to hear its screams, yet the boar just kept drinking.

What happened next was so amazingly quick that the Hunter fought not to flinch when it happened, nor blink or he'd lose her.

From the bushes and shrubs behind the boar there was an explosion of movement, leaves and earth bursting into the air as an enormous head sprang from the forest and sank its teeth into the boar. The pig squealed coughing up blood as she bit hard into its midsection crushing its rips and internal organs with undeniable strength, the animal kicking weakly but couldn't escape the monstrous jaws clamped around it.

With unearthly grace she lifted her head and released the pig, the animal still squealing as it fell down the great snakes' gullet onto a straight course to her stomach.

There was a fountain of blood, a final high-pitched squeal from the pig that echoed hauntingly, and then she closed her mouth and swallowed hard.

The squealing stopped.

'Yawn'. The great snake. The most majestic and powerful of the predators and mutants to escape the mansion burped mightily as her eyes lidded with pleasure due to the full feeling of her stomach.

The Hunter held his breath as he watched in awe that great beast, her speed and power incredible and despite the danger of the moment he almost found himself stepping out from his hiding place and bowing down before her. Worshipping her even unto the moment she bit deep into his body with those huge fangs of hers.

Thankfully common sense won out and he remained still as the snake glanced around a few times, (every moment her eyes fell on his he flinched in terror) for anything else of interest before she turned and slithered back into the woods.

The Hunter breathed out a sigh of awe, and a little relief, after he was certain she was gone. The whole incident had lasted less then a minute and apart from her first strike and the death-squeals of the pig she had made no sound nor left any marks of her passage through here.

'She truly is a god' the Hunter thought in dark satisfaction and he knew that if anyone could grant his wish then it would be her.

He stared at the pool for a few moments before starting back towards the clan caves, now that he knew she preyed on the small pond he could proceed with his plan.

Though for his scheme to succeed he'd need to scour the ranks and find another Hunter willing to follow him. One that would be stupid and easily duped and thus also of no great loss to the clan.

He hissed as his chest ached and he brought a claw to the tender area of his chest rubbing it soothingly. The arrow that that bastard purple beast had fired at him had been removed and the wound healed but the Hunter suspected he'd always have pain from time to time due to the attack.

The thought brought a snarl of hatred to his face as he imagined the sufferings he would place on that fool and his female ally.

'And Yawn is the key' he thought with a gruesome grin, the scenario of success playing in his head and making him light-headed with glee. If his plan worked he would see those two pests removed from 'ever' interfering with his life again.

'And with those two gone, he hissed to himself in his own tongue, nothing will stop me from ruling the clans'

Filled with dark visions of conquest the Hunter chirped and tittered to himself as he entered his clans' land, now off to find a suitable clan brother to follow him.

Already with several candidates in mind he disappeared into the sewers and caves following the scent trails of his kind deep into the bowels of the earth.

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Hazard and Lisa had been talking for the better part of an hour now, (Well mainly Lisa talking and Hazard listening intently) and the young Tyrant was quite frankly amazed by the tale Lisa was calmly reciting to him.

She had explained about the various clans' and species that lived here, their tactics, their mannerisms and tendencies, as well as the areas they inhabited and called their own.

The depth of knowledge Lisa contained about the monsters was staggering, and she explained that these beasts were far more complex then he Hazard first believed. He had imagined them to be no more then wandering bestial monsters searching for their next meal but Lisa refuted this.

The zombies that infested the mansion and old human buildings were first to be explained. Though they were truly animalistic and couldn't communicate intelligently with each other they were by no means a weak side at all. The dead humans firstly, for the most part, stayed within the mansion and guardhouse (Hazard had asked what that place was but Lisa said "Later") wandering the places their rotted brains dreamily remembered.

Though an individual zombie was little threat they tended to move in groups and the crimson breeds, that Lisa had noticed were growing more common then their weaker cousins, were a beast best avoided if possible.

"No arguments here" Hazard muttered, remembering with a chill both his encounters with such beasts.

'At least they can be overcome by us one on one Hazard' Unity added helpfully.

Next Lisa spoke of the wild dogs that lived in various packs across the miles of forest around the mansion. The dogs were also infected by the virus and thus rotted too but they, unlike the infected humans, had retained their speed and strength and gained a dangerous bloodlust too. The only plus side was that Lisa believed their senses of sight and hearing to be much weaker then even the zombie humans as the dogs could be sneaked by when they are in a docile mood.

"Why is it that the dogs are stronger then the humans? Why do the animals mutate differently?" Hazard asked of his teacher.

Lisa had frowned and after a few moments shrugged and answered, "I have no idea but it's the way the virus works, that's all that's important"

Next she explained about the Hunters, the most dangerous of all the monsters that Lisa had encountered. The Hunters were the most dominant creatures- "Apart from me" Lisa smugly stated- and also the most prolific, their numbers constantly fluctuating during the years but always staying high.

"It seems that all they do is go out off their caves looking for trouble, and when they get back they just have sex all the time" Lisa said in disgust.

"What a life" Hazard said dreamily, then coughed and motioned for Lisa to continue when she glared at him, Unity laughing loudly inside his skull.

Next she mentioned the gigantic spiders that haunted the sewers and the previously mentioned guardhouse. The enormous arachnids were one of the few creatures Lisa feared in this insane menagerie of monsters.

"Never-ever think you're safe around them, Lisa warned with steely eyes, they are smart and fast, cunning and so silent. And to date neither any other monster, nor I have been able to drive them back or dent their numbers. 'That's' how deadly they are"

Lisa then closed her eyes and shuddered, "Just thinking about how they kill you is creepy enough"

"I'll bet" Hazard muttered, remembering the screaming victims of the spiders in his dream this morning.

Thankfully the spiders rarely ventured from their strongholds and Lisa had met them on the rarest occasions in the woods.

"Even outside their own territory they are dangerous so always keep alert for them when outside"

"What signs are there if they're so sneaky Lisa?" Hazard replied a little smartly.

Lisa's eyes glittered with grim amusement, "When all the hairs on the back of your neck start to dance and you feel like a thousands eyes are staring at you. That's the only sign you get" she answered with mocking experience.

"The next monster, from what I've discovered there's only one and be grateful for that, is a creature that is far stronger and deadlier then all of the previous monsters combined" Lisa said with a deathly serious tone.

"It is a snake. But a snake far bigger then any other in the world and ten times stronger. Her name is 'yawn', well it's a name the Hunters gave her and I've picked it up too, and she is the greatest predator of all. If you ever meet her you'll get what I mean and hopefully you'll do what I do and run"

"I think I've already met it" Hazard said hesitantly and quickly explained the strange encounter before the caves, the creature that had passed without being seen yet an aura of terror had followed it.

Lisa went on to explain its habits and hunting style, basically trying to hypnotise its prey if it could and if not overpowering them with brute strength, and the best ways to avoid it.

Hazard listened raptly but decided to keep his own thoughts of challenge to himself. A part of him was itching to fight such a beast and in killing it prove himself to be the greatest Tyrant here, though to be honest he had no idea were such a mad notion had come from only that he was giving it consideration.

'Consider how easily such a creature could kill you Hazard. Unity said scornfully, if Lisa says it should be avoided then the smartest action would be to heed her advice'

Lisa finished off the list of monsters with the lesser animals of the region. The bloodthirsty birds seemed to be of little threat to Hazard, and Lisa agreed, yet she felt it best to keep an eye out for them or else possibly loss it.

After that his mentor explained the surrounding areas and the buildings and realms within the region. The guardhouse piped Hazards curiosity and he immediately decided to check it out at some point, 'surely some overgrown bugs can't be that tough' Hazard reasoned.

'You're not invincible Hazard' Unity warned.

And lastly she explained, with some hesitation, about the corporation that had created what they both were now, the faceless entity whose children and technology still left marks in this world.

Hazard listened with wide eyes as Lisa told him of the humans' experiments on animals and their own kind in the effort to make a whole new breed of weapon. A weapon made on the building block of life, a weapon made from mutating flesh.

"B-but how? How could they do all this and nobody knew about it?" Hazard asked in outrage after Lisa told him about the screaming humans being feed to their creations.

The girl shrugged and her eyes were distant as she said, "Umbrella was powerful and rich. And people don't ask or care what rich corporations like Umbrella do in their spare time… not when they can buy silence like a child buys sweets, effortless and without trouble"

"And what about you, Hazard asked gently, how did you fit into their experiments?"

Lisa's eyes flashed in warning and her gaze was now cold, "That is not your business Hazard" she snapped.

Hazard flinched and dropped his gaze in apology, "Sorry… I didn't mean to pry," he said meekly.

"Yes you did" Lisa stated, her tone so lifeless that Hazard flinched.

"Then I certainly didn't mean to upset you" He answered and met her eyes with sincerity in his own.

The other Tyrant stared for a moment before she blinked and sighed wearily, "I just don't want to talk about my past Hazard, not to you or anyone else. So don't take it personally"

"Ok then, it's a deal. As long you put up with my questions for a little longer," Hazard said with a grin.

"Questions on other subjects I mean!" he added quickly as Lisa stared.

Lisa rolled her eyes but continued her tale telling Hazard about the day when the virus first escaped and began to infect the scientists and residents of the mansion.

"At first nobody knew what was going on, the people in the mansion going about their business without any idea that their own disease was loose below them. It took an hour or so for them to realise something was wrong when they didn't receive any calls from the labs and by then it was too late"

Lisa's eyes were glassy as she looked deep into her memory, "I was watching from the forest when it all went to hell, once they discovered the virus was loose the lab was locked up and the security forces took full control of the mansion"

She chuckled without humour; "They were acting with such purpose. Confining the staff, shooting everyone who escaped the underground labs, and welding the main lab entrance shut and hiding the rest… though nothing they did helped them in the end"

"For a day or two everything seemed ok and they believed that the Virus had been contained underground, Lisa said as she picked at a stray corner of the rug, but then I saw them starting to shoot people and burning the bodies"

"Why?" Hazard asked appalled.

Lisa eyes met his and they shone with grim satisfaction, "Because they were infected Hazard, perhaps not all but enough to be a threat"

She leaned back and gazed at the fire in contemplation, "Anyone who started to show symptoms was killed, and although there were a lot of scientists infected and that some of them hid their illness in fear the mansion shouldn't have fallen. The soldiers methods would have killed almost two thirds of the population but it would have halted the virus and prevented a total catastrophe"

Hazard looked around him at the old cabin and waved his arms in emphasis to Lisa, "Well obviously it didn't work so come on what happened Lisa?"

Lisa was grinning again, though Hazard couldn't see it but he just knew she was, "Why the monsters happened Hazard" Lisa answered sweetly.

"The very creatures they had been growing underground escaped and started killing and slaughtering the soldiers, very soon total chaos reigned as the humans hid and ran throughout the mansion and grounds trying to escape the monsters" Lisa said with an amused look.

"Several even found me… though not for long" she whispered in fond remembrance.

Hazard eyed her wearily but decided not to press comment, "So the monsters killed them all and later they came back as zombies?" he hazarded a guess.

Lisa shook her head, "Not quite Hazard. Mostly they held out in small parts of the mansion and guardhouse hoping to survive until help came. But without the soldiers constant surveillance very soon the few infected began to change and attack their companions"

She sighed and looked back at Hazard; "In the end once the monsters escaped they lasted barely a week… after that the world you see around started"

Hazard closed his eyes as he digested this information, all thought the scientists had this coming, poetic justice to be killed by their own murderous creations Hazard believed, yet he still felt some pity.

'To be trapped in just a few rooms in that house… knowing that horrible creatures stalk the corridors and that at any moment you or a friend may change and become a soulless beast… it most have been truly insane'

'We just hope we don't lose hope like they did Hazard' Unity said quietly.

Hazard opened his eyes and looked at Lisa with frank admiration. He couldn't imagine what it had been like to survive for so long like this and maintain your sanity but she had done it. She was truly a miracle and the strongest willed creature he had ever known 'and' would ever know.

"You're incredible" Hazard whispered.

Lisa tilted her head watching Hazard uncertainly, "What do you mean?"

"To survive like this for so long and still be the way you are… you're just incredible Lisa" Hazard answered in reverence.

Lisa blinked rapidly then averted her gaze and began to twitch nervously, "I am not 'incredible' Hazard… living like this has all but destroyed me" she finally answered with deep sadness.

Hazard shook his head and leaned forward gently laying a hand on Lisa's pale human one, she flinched but didn't move away from him.

"You-are-perfect Lisa, Hazard said brooking no argument once Lisa met his eyes, never doubt that"

The two stared at each other silently for perhaps a minute before Lisa shuddered and drew her hands back. She rose and stepped away from Hazard towards the flight of stairs, looking back at him before she started to ascend.

"I have to go get changed" she said calmly, her blank eyes and detached demeanour back in place.

'I was getting through to her I'm sure of it! What is it that makes her so afraid… is it just being alone for so long or is it more?' Hazard wondered.

"Hazard?" Lisa growled, annoyed by his silence.

The male Tyrant started and looked back at Lisa in embarrassment, "Y-yeah I heard… what you getting changed for?" he asked curiously, 'cause I really like what you're wearing right now so you sure you wanna change?' he thought to himself.

Lisa glared at him for a second before she sighed, as if giving up on berating him and impatiently answered, "I have to go out on patrol and I won't wear a shift for that"

The girl continued up the stairs yet paused when she reached the doorway to the second room.

She looked back him with nervousness in her amber eyes, after a few moments fighting with herself she hesitantly said, "You are welcome to join me if you want?"

Hazard blinked in surprise before smiling softly at her; 'Maybe I'm getting past the wall of ice after all?'

"I'd be happy to come, I still need to sightsee a bit more after all" Hazard said in explanation, making it sound like he was being logical so as not to make Lisa any more nervous then she already was.

She nodded and quickly disappeared from Hazards sight, leaving the Tyrant alone with his thoughts.

'Wow did the psychotic tentacle girl just ask you out on a date Hazard?' Unity teased as soon as they were alone.

Hazard blushed, "I hardly think going on patrol, whatever that is, counts as a 'date'" he said defensively as he picked up his weapons and tied them to his belt.

'Maybe, maybe not. But just being around someone like this is probably a huge step for Lisa'

"Yeah… I had reached that conclusion too Unity" Hazard answered as he watched the fire begin to die down.

'So with that in mind, Unity continued, don't mess this up Hazard'

Hazard growled and rubbed at his eyes, "You're the worse kind of agony aunt Unity" he muttered.

'Well we try' Unity said smugly, 'Perhaps with Lisa's aid the two of you could figure out a way to escape this place'

"I know. But still something must have kept Lisa here for this long so she'll probably not be too enthusiastic about leaving"

The Tyrant sighed again as his thoughts drifted to Lisa's story about Umbrella, "And the other main problem… what if me and Lisa do escape only to be caught again by this 'Umbrella' or otherwise shunned and disgusted by the humans at large" he whispered worriedly.

'We will cross that bridge when we come to it… and when we do we will overcome whatever we have to face' Unity said soothingly, its confidence cheering Hazard up a bit.

"Hope so"

'Know so' Unity countered.

Hazard grinned and tapped the side of his head, "Don't get smart Unity or I'll make you regret it" he mock threatened.

'You talk the talk but can you walk the walk?' Unity challenged.

Hazard laughed happily, his other persona always finding ways to cheer him up. His ears twitched as he heard Lisa's return and he waited patiently for her arrival.

When she entered the room Hazard was disappointed to see she was wearing another of her brown rags that completely covered her beautiful feminine figure. He eyed it for a moment, wisely keeping his thoughts to himself, and looked up at Lisa's suspicious gaze.

"What were you laughing about?" she asked, her question throwing Hazard off.

"Uh just something funny I remembered" he stammered. The idea of revealing to Lisa that he had at least one other personality in his head that he regularly talked wasn't something he was going to consider.

Lisa's head tilted, her eyes still calculating, "Can I ask what was so amusing to you?"

Briefly Hazard considered saying 'no you can't', he didn't butt into Lisa's life so why should she enter his? But then the remembrance that he wanted to be friends stopped that sentence and he wracked his brains for something to say.

His mouth split into a real grin as he recalled his first encounter with a normal zombie, "I was just remembering when I was in the labs I needed to get a zombie to follow me so I chucked paint cans at its head, Hazard giggled to himself, the thing followed me and almost tripped over one of the cans that hit it, the look on its face was priceless!"

Lisa blinked as she absorbed this then a small snort of amusement escaped the mask, "I suppose that would be funny," she admitted reluctantly.

"Sorry to pry… I was just worried when I heard you laughing from downstairs," Lisa added in apology.

Hazard waved her off then clapped his hands and cocked his head inquisitively, "So what now?" he enquired.

Lisa hissed and Hazard again could imagine a grin under her mask, albeit a bloodthirsty one. Her tentacles snapped into the air and Hazard took a step back from her menacing aura.

"Now we go and find a few Hunters to… educate in the consequences for attacking us" Lisa said with a child-like titter, all sweet and high yet twisted into something crazed.

Hazard smiled back meekly as he thought this over… in truth he wanted to get some payback too against those scaleys.

'It would be nice to be the hunter this time and not prey' Unity offered.

Hazard smirked and drew his knife, twirling it with his claws and matching Lisa's violent posture with an excited glaze in his own golden eyes.

"Let's go to school Lisa"

Chapter 15.

Forbidden thoughts in outlawed creatures.

Far from the cabin, in one of the many tunnels that breached the daylight land from the underworld, a creature was steadily making its way towards the surface.

Its many eyes looked ahead seeing the hazy light that came from the end of the tunnel and knew it was close to the surface. Although there was now sufficient light to see the creatures eyes had been born damaged just like the rest of its kind and all it could see were vague shapes and the bright, painful light of the sun.

Still without sight its other senses had long since been mutated to something far grander then norm and it could easily use smell and touch to navigate, a boon in the dark labs that it was born in.

Its head rose, mandibles opening in a small hiss and nose twitching as it picked up a familiar scent in the downwards breeze. A shape detached itself from the rocky walls ahead and took position between the creature and the outside.

The creature sent an enquiring click from its mandibles and was answered by the other. Its caution now gone it continued its journey and came to an easy halt before the other that had patiently awaited it.

The guard stretched his neck forward, sniffing and clicking in question, 'Who are you?' he asked authoritatively.

'Don't joke about, you know me, or is your smelling nose losing its touch warrior?' the creature answered with its own high clicking, its tone pleasant though an outsider would wonder at the harsh hissing it made.

The guard snorted, 'Oh its you. Out again on another of your scavenger hunts?' he asked wearily.

The creature shrugged, its tiny deformed wings fluttering on its back as its scythe swished through the air, 'I found something interesting yesterday but had to leave because of those damn Hunters, now I'm coming back for it' it explained.

The guard twisted round to look outside, sniffing the air intently, his many eyes looking in all directions in agitation.

'Though you won't listen I gotta say it. There's a bad feeling in the air today; perhaps Yawn or a band of Hunters are about… I'd say try again tomorrow when it calms down' the guard said in warning.

The other clicked its mandibles together sharply, its species version of a sharp dismissal, 'It may be gone tomorrow so I have to go now, besides I'm faster then any stupid Hunters' it answered cockily.

The guard snorted and butted the other on the chest with his head, 'Do not be so arrogant young one, you may be willing to risk your life for stupid shiny objects but the clan would be upset to lose you' the guard hissed.

The smaller creature had almost fallen over with the head-push but quickly righted itself and bared its mandibles and inner teeth angrily, 'They are not stupid! They were left by the creators and they could be the key to discovering our past' it chattered righteously.

The guard eyed it, (something that would have been unnerving for a human considering how many eyes the big male had) then sighed and gently laid a claw on its shoulder, 'I'm sorry, I know this is important to you. But still you're too valuable to risk yourself like this'

He tilted his head and hissed questionably, 'How did you get up here without your brood mother stopping you?'

The smaller creature tittered and answered, 'gave her the slip, said I was going to impress the chief and she was so relieved that I was being 'normal' that she didn't follow me'

The bigger male chuckled and rubbed the smaller ones shoulder affectionately; 'You have a cunning mind young one'

The creature backed away from the touch and glared petulantly up at the older one, 'Stop calling me young one, I'm not an infant anymore I've grown' it stated while gesturing to its body.

The guard paused as he examined the other silently, yes he couldn't deny that the child had grown and there in lied the problem.

'Yes you've grown and that's why you should go back… you're too valuable to risk Kee-ta' the male said gently.

'Oh stop going on about that' the creature clicked impatiently.

'The argument is not going to go away just because you want it to' the guard hissed a little annoyed himself.

The other folded its arms and buzzed its small wings irritably; 'There are other females' she answered sulkily.

'You and only a few others are actually fertile Kee-ta' the male pointed out.

'So! Why should I allow myself to be bullied into stopping doing what I enjoy?' Kee-ta demanded angrily, her claws bunched and scythe shaking as her smaller body vibrated in anger.

The male stepped forward and carefully reached out for her, she resisted at first but soon surrendered to his hold, 'I know you don't like it but we are constantly in danger and we cannot replace our numbers like our enemies can. That is why you are valuable Kee-ta' he hissed gently.

The small female was silent for a moment, 'He wants me Cha-chi' she whispered fearfully.

Cha-chi felt his mandibles tighten and he hugged his friend back in comfort. He had known the small female since she was first born, back then being a young hunter himself and not yet a member of the chief's guard. Even then he had cared for her and now that she was older he couldn't deny that he felt anger due to her plight.

'I know' he whispered, at a lose for anything else to say.

'I don't like how he's constantly watching me… I know he's the chief but I still hate it' Kee-ta hissed.

The male held her closer and nuzzled against the soft flesh of her neck, 'He won't dare make a claim until you are ready little one. And that is not for a few more moons at least' he said soothingly.

She laughed self-pityingly, 'perhaps, perhaps not Cha-chi' she hissed with a hint of a sob.

She raised her head and her watery eyes gazed into his own, 'Why can I not chose who I mate with? What is so wrong with that Cha-chi?' she asked with pained green eyes.

The male gulped as he stared back at her. His beautiful young friend that he had watched over for years and she in turn comforted and played with him making the hard life of a clan-warrior much more bearable.

His eyes roamed over her, at such a close distance he could see Kee-ta clearly, admiring the soft chitin of her outer shell, the clean and delicate mandibles and teeth of her mouth, her glowing emerald eyes and sweet scent full of vitality.

He sighed and nuzzled against her neck trying to comfort her, rocking her gently as he hugged her and hoping that would calm her down and stop the depression that was coming. It had some effect as the female relaxed against him, her smaller body moulding against his perfectly.

Cha-chi could see why the chief was staking so adamant a claim on her but as he held her he felt resentment, as any hot-blooded male would have. She was absolute perfection, the pinnacle of health and beauty for his species and like many others of the clan he felt it unfair that the chief could ban her from any other suitors.

But more then that he knew her far more then any other male. The chief just saw a healthy breeder and detested her hobbies and wilful nature. Cha-chi secretly admired her cheeky nature and would never dream of stopping her from continuing what she enjoyed.

Despite his half-hearted arguments he found his nuzzling changing to gentle licks and nips as he explored the tiny females slender neck. His arms held her closer as he own scythe ran gently down her back sensually tickling the shiny black chitin there.

To his surprise Kee-ta didn't resist and instead a tiny mewl escaped her throat as she moved against his attentions, her own arms coming round him holding him tight as she arched her neck Cha-chi quickly licking and tenderly biting down the length of the quivering throat.

Her scent of arousal grew heavy in the air and the male growled in lust, hearing an answering meek hiss from the female in his arms. His scythe curled around her midsection, just above the swell of her abdomen, as his other hand carefully explored between her thighs.

She shrieked and clutched against him, trembling heavily as his claws sank into her young wetness. He knew he shouldn't be doing this yet the thrill of doing wrong just added to the haze of pleasure in his blood.

Kee-ta was not yet ready to breed. She still had a little more growing to do and although he himself was fully mature they could not make a brood together.

Yet many of his kind mated just for the pleasure of it although it was frowned upon by the elders… but then those old coots were probably too haggard to even mount a female so most young-bloods didn't listen to them.

Still only a few males and females mated outside the breeding cycle and Cha-chi was himself one of those few. Mating felt so nice so why limit it to just a few cycles of the moon every year?

Still fewer females were as same-minded and Cha-chi had found himself wondering if Kee-ta was the same. Now as she writhed against him clicking and whimpering in excitement he knew the truth now.

He felt his claws sink deeper into her warm folds and as his own excitement grew he felt that what was about to happen was something he had wanted to do for years. Truly he felt that the beautiful female was rightfully his and at this moment he was prepared to claim her as his own and to hell with the chief.

But as he shifted about and opened her up in readiness to take her both of them froze when they heard movement coming up the tunnel.

Trained instinct took over instantly and Cha-chi quickly pushed Kee-ta behind him and took a defensive posture between her and whatever was coming. His eyes glared into the darkness as he sniffed frenziedly and felt the currents of the air.

After a few seconds he realised that it was another of his kind coming and the urge to go down there and rip its throat out for disturbing he and Kee-ta was almost overwhelming.

He was just about to step forward and at least pound the fool a little when a scent wafted back to him and he realised who was coming.

He looked behind him at Kee-ta who was still sitting on the floor looking dazed, 'Its your brood mother' he whispered, inwardly feeling smug at how he had rendered her mindless with his attentions.

However his words jumpstarted her brain and she shot to her feet quickly rushing for the exit, 'Tell her you didn't see me!' she shouted back at him before disappearing into the sunlight.

Cha-chi let loose a shriek of fury as he dashed to the entrance of the cave, 'Kee-ta its dangerous don't go out!' he screamed after her but if she heard she gave no sign. The sunlight, though mild, was blinding to his eyes and he knew he'd have to leave the cave and track her by scent if he wanted to catch her.

As he was standing at the entrance gnawing at the bone of his scythe in agitation that he was called by Kee-ta's creator.

'Cha-chi is that you?' the elder female asked as she blinked her eyes and sniffed the air. She was already old when she first gave birth to Kee-ta and the rest of the brood and had lost her sharp senses in the following years.

Taking a deep breath the warrior turned and paced over to her, ducking his head respectfully and then touching scythes with her in greeting, 'Mother Ik-gei, what are you doing here? Its dangerous' he said with concern.

The old female sighed and clacked her mandibles tiredly, 'My daughter has vanished again Cha-chi and I am trying to find her. Has she passed by here at all?'

The male paused for a moment then shook his head, 'No mother Ik-gei I have not sensed her presence here. I have been here for several hours now I believe and you are the first to come visit me' he added a little wryly.

The elder chuckled, clapping her mandibles together rapidly, as she nuzzled him apologetically, 'I am sorry you sentries get so bored. If you want once your shift is over you may join me and my brood for our meal'

'Perhaps my daughter will turn up for food' she hissed in annoyance.

'Would you like me to go out and search for her once my shift is over? It should only be another hour at most' he added hopefully. Having official reason to explore the outside world would ease his mind.

The old mother gazed at the sharp blob of light that was the cave entrance before clicking negatively, 'No Cha-chi my daughter will find her way back in time. She is sometimes more resourceful at evading danger then even you warriors' she said half-cheerful, half-mocking of her daughter. Ik-gei was of the old school elders and didn't like how wild her daughter was and her copying of male practices like hunting.

'If you say so' Cha-chi answered neutrally but inside he was feeling sick with worry.

The mother snorted and turned away from the younger male, 'I swear that child will never learn her place. The chief would be better to choose another female as his mate then my rebellious daughter. He should not be burdened with the task of making her behave herself' she muttered angrily.

Cha-chi remained silent but he felt his hand bunch up into a fist as he imagined how the chief would 'educate' Kee-ta. He had seen some males beat their mates to control them and he had no desire to see such a thing happen to his beautiful friend.

'Not after what almost happened just now' he thought. Still confused and uncertain about what to think in the wake of that heated moment.

The mother turned and bared her teeth in a friendly expression; 'well I'll ask the other sentries Cha-chi but if she turns up please tell her to get herself down to me or else'

'I will' Cha-chi lied.

'And don't forget that to join us for our meal later will you' the old female said cheerfully.

'I won't forget, thank you'

The mother turned and hobbled back down underground muttering to herself all the way. Cha-chi watched her until he was certain she was gone then raced over to the entrance of the tunnel.

He gazed out into the sunlit world, a hundred reasons not to chase after the young female yelling into his ears.

This was his post, if a predator came down here that wasn't spotted and reported in time it could kill many of his kind before it was stopped. If his replacement came and found him gone he would be reported and probably given a firm dressing down by the chief. And of course Kee-ta's mother was right, the child had gone out into the world many times and come back safely so why not this time?

'Because I have a bad feeling about this time, he thought to himself, this time something serious could happen to her'

He thought this over for a few more seconds then with a hiss of 'to hell with it' abandoned his post and dashed into the forest, intently following the scent of his friend.

He didn't care what happened to him as long as she was safe.

Chapter 16.

A monster that has a heart is no monster at all, but a person like Frankenstein.

Hazard shivered but not from cold as he looked around at the black mud and tattered weeds that surrounded him, "Tell me again why we're here of all places?" Hazard asked tensely as he gazed at the gravestones that surrounded him.

Lisa's head popped up from behind an angel figurine to his right and he almost flinched at the sudden movement. She noticed his unease and her eyes twinkled with glee, "Scared purple one?" she sang.

Hazard glowered at her and gestured around him at the crumbling gravestones and the dozens of bodies under the ground, "We're surrounded by dead people, isn't that freaking you out a little?"

Lisa shrugged and went back to her search; "Not really" she answered calmly.

"Besides you meet dead people all the time why be scared now?" she shot back as she crouched before a toppled headstone and poked it with interest.

Hazard stood with claws akimbo on his hips as he hissed agitatedly, "Exactly I'm worried about these dead people becoming 'undead' people and trying to eat me"

'Calm yourself Hazard, there is nothing to fear' Unity whispered.

"Don't be afraid these people won't be getting up, there's not enough left of them for even the virus to regenerate" Lisa answered off-handily, unknowingly collaborating with Unity.

"Besides do you not think we are a match for any zombies," she said smugly as her amber eyes gazed at him before she started to dig at the ground.

"It's the red ones I'm worried about" Hazard muttered as he glared around the graveyard. Of all places why did their first stop have to be a graveyard?

He heard Lisa give a sharp "Ha!" of satisfaction and picked his way over to her, (Being careful not to tread on any graves as he did) and stared down at the mound of earth the girl was digging into.

"What are you doing?" he asked, confused as to why Lisa was trying to dig up a corpse.

Lisa's tentacles burrowed into the ground and with a sharp tug pulled something free. Hazard knelt and helped his friend ('Well she almost is Hazard' Unity said) uncover the object.

The tyrant pulled a face of disgust as a rotted stump that used to be an arm was exhumed and he stared at Lisa for some kind of clarity.

The girls eyes were shining with triumph and the thrill of the hunt, "They are close, very close" she whispered excitedly.

"Who's they?" Hazard asked wearily.

Lisa quickly buried the stump and gave Hazard her full attention; "Sometimes Hunters or others come here and try to dig up the bodies for food. That was until I placed this graveyard under my protection and killed anything that entered here or dared try to steal a corpse"

She stood up, brushing off the dirt off her rags and continued, "This shows that Hunters were here recently, I recognise the digging style, and the fact they nabbed just an arm then ran for it shows intelligence"

Her eyes blazed with fury for a second, "And that they dared do this just after a battle with me proves they think they can get away with this. Oh I will enjoy correcting them" she hissed venomously.

Hazard nodded slowly and quickly stood up and followed after Lisa as she stalked out of the graveyard and into the forest, her deep breathing showing she was searching for a scent to follow.

Hazard followed in silence for a moment before hesitantly asking, "Why do you protect them?"

Lisa didn't register at first that he had spoke them stopped and glanced at him in confusion, "Protect what?" she said perplexed.

"Why do you protect a graveyard full of dead people?" he asked curiously.

Lisa turned away and Hazard waited patiently. After half a minute she still didn't answer and Hazard wondered whether he should bother repeating the question again.

"Its because they are innocent, Lisa whispered haltingly, they were put to rest long before the monsters or Umbrella came to this place and they don't deserve to suffer anymore then they already are"

She quickly continued to walk obviously deciding she had said enough, Hazard followed after her sedately mulling over her words as he stared at her back and the long tentacles that grew from her.

'She's like a puzzle box, Hazard though fondly, and I've only just started on one side'

'Does that mean there's only five more revelations she can give us Hazard?' Unity asked in mock seriousness.

'Maybe… it'll all get metaphysical after side four trust me on this' Hazard replied lightly as the duo silently moved deeper into the forest.

Taking a curving path that lead straight towards the abandoned, but not uninhabited, ex-guardhouse of the ancient humans.

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Kee-ta clicked her mandibles in agitation as she clung tight against the gnarled bark of the tree she was hiding in. Her black chitin and pale brown skin blending well against the old tree even as the thick canopy hid her from view from below.

She closed her eyes and focused with her other two main senses as the Hunters below chirped to each other in greeting. It was just her luck to be at the spot where a group of youngbloods had arranged to meet and now be stuck until they decided to leave.

'But of course, she thought wryly, if I'd been paying attention I'd never have got into this mess'

The reason she had not noticed the increasing scent of Hunters nor the trampled ground was that her head had been, figuratively, in the clouds. Every minute her mind kept playing back that moment barely an hour ago that had made her feel more wonderful then she could ever imagine.

She clamped her mandibles together to stop the hiss of frustration that her aching body was yearning to release. But more so it was yearning for someone to release her.

Someone with such a gentle touch and soul yet a powerful and dangerous body, someone she had known for years but never imagined knowing in such an intimate way.

'Cha-chi…'

Her body shivered again and that special place between her legs, that she had never attributed a great deal of thought to, was now throbbing with feelings that made her want to scream and cry at the same time.

She had heard the older females talk in hushed tones about such feelings, usually that their mates had given them the night before, she had found it fascinating but also believed it to be a little too farfetched.

But then she spent barely five minutes in her old friends arms and she was willing to take back every scornful remark she made about the pleasure tow people could make.

She was broken out of her daydream when there was a greater chorus below and sniffing intently she got a rough image of a fourth Hunter rushing to greet the others.

A strange stink filled the air and the female wrinkled her nose and bared her fangs in disgust. Peering down at the Hunters she could fuzzily make out that one of the Hunters was holding something aloft that the others were eagerly clambering around it to get at.

She breathed deep again and realised that it was a large hunk of rotted meat the young reptile had acquired, probably ripped from the flank of a zombie. She snorted distastefully, it was just like those foul beasts to eat such wasted meat, and probably it was why so many of them were out of their minds.

'At least my clan makes an effort to find fresh meat and makes sure to properly treat dead flesh' she thought with scorn.

The Hunters below began to fight and tumble over the meat and Kee-ta sighed and made herself comfortable in the branches, 'looks like I'm gonna be here awhile' she thought irritably.

So as not to think about Cha-chi she picked up the object she had found earlier and sniffed it wondrously. The object was a thin metal stick that was made from a very shiny material, more so then normal metal.

Her fingers explored its length enjoyed the cool smooth touch and coming to rest on the protruding nub at one end of the stick.

She grinned and pressed down and was delighted that as she pushed the nub in it locked and a pokey bit shot out from the other end.

She tittered and pressed down at again and the nub came loose and returned to its previous position, the pointy bit returned inside the stick too.

Still though she remembered to stifle her sounds of glee the stick made a faint clicking sound every time Kee-ta pressed it and soon the repeating sound made one of the Hunters below cock its head, pausing in mid-chew, as it heard the strange noise.

The Hunter sniffed suspiciously and its slitted eyes widened as it smelt another very close by. It quietly chirped to its companions and soon all four Hunters were looking around and sniffing inquisitively.

Kee-ta paused as she sensed the predators below stop eating and when she glanced down she forced down a curse (More a high-pitched squeal that basically meant 'shit!') as she watched them explore the shrubbery around them.

She glanced over at the human building nearby, the one she had found the 'stick' in and just avoided being spider food too, and wondered if she should risk making a break for it.

When one of the Hunters stopped at the tree she was hiding in, sniffing at the base of its trunk then looking up in confusion, she knew she had to risk it. Otherwise she'd be caught in this tree and those Hunters could easily leap the height to get her.

But it was as she silently moved in position to leap, and the Hunter below dug its claws into the tree and prepared to leap, that a loud shriek made everyone start in surprise.

Kee-ta squinted down at the floor, her eyes picking up a blurred shape that was standing out in the open before the Hunters. Her eyes widened in shock as the scent reached her and she knew who it was instantly.

The Hunters quickly gathered together and eyed Cha-chi as the big male stood fearlessly in front of them, his four eyes glaring at each of them in turn as he stood at ease, calm and confident.

The Hunters, encouraged by their greater numbers, stalked forward, fanning out and surrounding the single warrior. But Cha-chi remained still just watching them and Kee-ta then knew his plan.

'He's distracting them from me!' She thought in horror and immediately her blood raced with adrenaline as she brandished her scythe and prepared to leap to her friends' aid. She was not going to allow her best friend to sacrifice himself just for her!

'Stay where you are Kee-ta I have this under control' Cha-chi hissed to Kee-ta though he made sure not to look in her direction. The Hunters, not understanding his language, assumed he was threatening them and growled back mockingly.

Kee-ta stared panic-stricken unsure whether to take his advice or do what she did to many males and disobey. However the next instant had her frozen in awe and unable to move only watch.

The Hunters had circled their silent prey and one of the bolder ones decided to take the first shot and lunged for Cha-chi's back, fangs bared and claws outstretched.

Quicker then Kee-ta believed possible her friend side-stepped and raked his scythe along the charging Hunters side, the beast shrieking in pain faltering in its charge and collapsing on its side in agony.

The others roared in outrage and charged forward hoping to pin Cha-chi between them and crush him, however the faster male launched his own attack heading for the nearest Hunter and slashing him across the face before the trap could close.

The reptile fell back clutching its bleeding face in pain and Cha-chi drew his scythe back for a killing blow. However before he could connect one of the other standing Hunters put on a burst of speed and threw itself against Cha-chi.

Her friend turned so that the Hunter smashed into his side and the predators greater weight forced him to the ground.

Even as the Hunter shrieked in triumph and slashed at Cha-chi's arm, spilling crimson blood in a wide arc, his discipline held and as he fell back with the Hunter he used its weight against it. Forcing them both into a roll he pushed up and forward with his clawed feet throwing the surprised monster right over his head and into the one Cha-chi had been attacking.

Quickly rushing to his feet he met the final Hunter just as it struck, its claws swinging in a deadly arc as it prepared to disembowel him.

The smaller but faster male jumped back, the claws slashing his stomach but not fatally, and quick as thought swung his own scythe in retaliation.

Though his speed was greater then a Hunter this one was smarter then its fellows and had been expecting a counter like this. As Cha-chi swung his scythe it ducked and was merely grazed across the back of its head, the wound irritating but in no way damaging.

Still ducked it thrust forward with a mighty punch, its green scaled hand curled into a mace of bone that would easily crush Cha-chi's ribcage should it connect, Kee-ta screamed in terror in that second and almost closed her eyes not wanting to see her friends end.

Fortunately Cha-chi was not a highly ranked warrior for nothing and the subtle movements of the Hunter alerted him to what it planned the instant it ducked his scythe. As its fist thrust at him he danced to the side, his twisting body avoiding the deadly punch by a mere centimetre.

Before it could pull back Cha-chi grabbed its stretched arm and curled his scythe around its elbow at the same instant. Quickly yanking with all his might the warrior threw the bulky beast past him and into the other two who had just started to rise.

All three went down in a tangled pile of claws and green scales and Cha-chi opened his mandibles wide in a roar of laughter.

He heard a painful hiss behind him and glancing back with his hind eyes he saw the first Hunter rising to its feet, though it was bleeding heavily pure hate was keeping it on its feet as it snarled at him.

'Kee-ta stay there until its clear then get back to the clan!' Cha-chi shrieked as he leap the mass of bodies before him and sprinted for deep forest.

'Cha-chi!' the young female screamed after him but the male merely screamed a 'DO AS I SAY!' before he disappeared into the forest.

As Cha-chi expected the Hunters picked themselves up and with chirps and squeals of outrage dashed after him, completely ignoring the female who hid in the trees above them.

The young female crouched paralysed by indecision as she heard the Hunters crashing through the undergrowth, roaring and shrieking in bloodlust as they gamely chased her friend.

She remained still for a full ten seconds before leaping from the tree and hurrying after the group as fast as she could.

She wouldn't let her friend face them alone!

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"You hear something?"

'We hear a lot of things Hazard'

"Hear what purple one?"

Hazard blinked and scrabbled a claw in his ear for a moment then tilted his head listening intently. Beside him Lisa watched him impatiently and within him Unity grew quiet as it heard something too.

"Something's coming" Hazard whispered and he quickly drew his weapons and stood protectively before Lisa.

"Sorry" he mumbled as Lisa pushed him aside, (almost knocking him over completely) and took a defensive posture next to him, her amber eyes glowing in anticipation.

Soon the high-pitched squealing and roaring was easily identifiable, "Hunters" Lisa hissed in glee and her tentacles snapped into the air excitedly.

"Just remember I'm on your side Lisa" Hazard said nervously as he ducked a swinging tentacle. He eyed the appendage wryly and wondered if Lisa would object to him slapping them if they hit him again.

Lisa turned her head and her eyes were thoughtful as she stared at him, "Don't worry Hazard if I kill you it won't be today" she said lightly before looking back into the undergrowth.

"That makes me feel so much better" Hazard muttered and Lisa shot him a mischievous look. A moment later the Tyrant squeaked as a tentacle ran sensually over the back of his neck and he stared at Lisa in surprise.

The girl threw him an apologetic look, "Sorry that was me trying to joke. I must be rusty after all these years," she said with an embarrassed laugh.

"Uh-huh" Hazard answered, unsure how to reply and a little shaky due to the previous caress.

'My god you mean she's saying she 'has' got a sense of humour?' Unity exclaimed in amazement.

'Not now Unity' Hazard growled as he clenched his fist tight around his knife and watched the bushes ahead shake and the shouts grow louder

There was a burst of movement, a shower of twigs and leaves, and a creature leapt from the undergrowth coming to a skidding halt as it saw the two Tyrants before it.

Lisa snarled as the monster stared at them in surprise but Hazard was open moved with shock. The beast before him had an uncanny resemblance to that bug-usher thing in his dream this morning.

It was covered in smooth black chitin and underneath its skin was a leathery brown. It had four limbs, two arms two legs, yet one arm ended in a long scythe of bone while the other was a more 'normal' hand with elongated fingers and wicked claws at the end.

Strangely it had a large 'growth' (that being the best way Hazard could word it in his mind) coming from its behind. After a seconds consideration he realised it was like an insects abdomen, like an ant or bee, further making him believe this was some kind of bug hybrid.

Lastly its face that was almost (And very 'almost') the most horrible thing he ever seen. Its face had smooth skin and a human shape but that was all that was normal. Its mouth had four mandibles like an insect and inside was sharp rows of teeth that definitely belonging to a carnivore.

Above its mouth it had not two but four eyes, two centre placed like a humans but the other two were on either side of its face to give the creature 180 degree vision.

Hazard was frozen in disgust as he gazed at the monster that panted heavily in exhaustion and gazed back fearfully. Beside him Lisa growled and rose her tentacles menacingly as she prepared to strike the weakened creature.

Hazard ears pricked as he heard an excited crashing as the Hunters approached and realised that the reptiles must have been chasing bug-boy here. The bug-boy in question glanced over its shoulder its trembling more prominent as it realised it was trapped between two groups of aggressors and now too tired to attempt an escape.

It closed its eyes for a second then when it reopened them they were filled with a resigned determination, a stubbornness that showed that even with its end approaching it was committed to making its killers remember its last stand.

Even as it half-crouched, prepared to lunge in any direction for what could be its final battle, Hazard felt respect and a tinge of admiration warm his chest and he knew that however horrible it may look it didn't deserve to die for that.

"Wait" Hazard ordered as Lisa prepared to attack, the girl staring at him in surprise and confusion but standing silent for the moment.

Hazard stepped forward and the monster eyed him warily, "Hurry get away" Hazard said in a rush, motioning for the creature to run past him and praying it would understand.

The creature stared back in confusion, a strange clicking sound coming from its mouth as if it was asking Hazard what he wanted.

"Hazard" Lisa growled, her tentacles twitching in anxiety and rising bloodlust as the approaching Hunters made her giddy with the desire to kill. She glared between the beast and Hazard wondering irritably why her friend didn't just kill the pathetic thing.

Hazard shot Lisa a beseeching look then turned back to the creature, he stepped to one side and urgently motioned for the creature to pass by, speaking softly to it to try and keep it calm.

Their was a loud screech from ahead and a Hunter sprang from the bushes and came to a halt as it saw Lisa and Hazard, pausing in uncertainty.

"Come on move!" Hazard yelled at the indecisive bug creature. Thankfully the appearance of the Hunter appeared to make up its mind and it darted forward passing by Hazard and coming to a halt a few meters behind them, staring nervously at Hazard and Lisa as they stood protectively in front of it.

Hazard smiled at it then glared at the Hunters that had began to emerge, Lisa shot the bug creature a warning glare then focused her attention on the Hunters.

"Payback time Lisa?" Hazard asked confidently.

Lisa answered with her characteristic screech that made Hazard wince and the Hunters cower in fear, she then launched herself at the Hunters, tentacles swinging through the air and bowling one over before it could react. Hazard grinned in excitement and rushed into the fray himself.

The first Hunter Lisa struck was thrown back into the forest and disappeared from sight, the two next to it quickly lunging at Lisa and meeting her in combat. Leaving one, this incidentally seemed to be the biggest, for Hazard to play with.

Hazard fired off an arrow and the Hunter proved its prowess by darted to the side and avoiding the attack, something that would have impressed Hazard if he didn't want to kill it.

Throwing his now empty crossbow away he stabbed at the beast with his knife aiming straight for its stomach with a roar of anger.

The Hunter dodged back and then rushed forward with a swipe that Hazard ducked with ease, replying with an upwards slash that cut across the Hunters chest and ended up its shoulder.

Ignoring the pain the Hunter closed the gap with Hazard and immediately began to grapple with him, hoping to use its greater mass and weight to overpower its leaner adversary. Hazard growling as he was pushed back but bracing his feet he pushed back surprising himself as he forced the Hunter away.

Realising that Hazard was as strong, (perhaps more) then itself the Hunter roared and utilised its natural weapons, striking forward with a headbutt that would have knocked Hazard senseless if it connected.

Fortunately Hazard had experienced this attack before and saw it coming. Leaning back he changed his grip and with some quick footwork threw the Hunter past him, its own weight and momentum aiding its flight.

Hazard laughed out loud as the Hunter picked itself up, its eyes blazing with hate and wounded pride. Hazard met its gaze with his own contemptuous stare as he clenched and unclenched his free claw and swished his tail excitedly.

'_The beast is weak! It is no match for us… show it how inferior it is'_

Hazard smirked and with an idle smile held his knife out and let it drop, the Hunter watching the action with surprise as Hazard surrendered his weapon.

The purple Tyrant stepped forward and held his arms out at his sides, a timeless gesture of 'come and get me then' as he stared at the Hunter with blazing gold eyes.

The Hunter blinked only once then rushed at Hazard, its whole mass held low as it charged with the force of a train, its claws sharp and jagged, its fangs like daggers, and its eyes burning with a terrifying desire to kill.

A human would have run screaming; even Hazard should have felt a hint of fear as it shot like a bullet towards him.

But all he felt was delight and an almost pleasurable excitement as he swung his fist and smashed it into the charging beasts' face, just an instant before it struck.

The Hunters' roar changed to a choked squeal as its nose broke and it fell back, barely staying on its feet as blood sprayed from its face as it weakly tried to stop the flow.

Hazard advanced and spinning on his heel swept the Hunters feet out from under it with his tail, the reptile crying out in pain as it fell heavily to the floor.

It tried to get out but with cold accuracy Hazard kicked it in the face and it collapsed again, mewling in pain as it held its broken face.

Hazard stepped calmly around it, his face blank as he watched it roll and squirm on the floor in pain. He came to a stop just beside its head and continued to watch it with cool detachment.

The Hunter looked up and it knew it was at the end. It had been bested by a creature more powerful then anything it had ever faced before and as it stared up at the sharp gold eyes of its executor it did something it had never done before.

It begged.

Hazard watched as the Hunter raised a hand weakly and began to chirp and squeal hurriedly, its tone weak and hurt but the meaning clear as it looked beseechingly into Hazards eyes.

It was asked him for mercy.

Hazard remained silent but the Hunter could see him shaking as if in the grip of some terrible emotion, or perhaps in the middle of mental war with himself.

The Hunters eyes widened and its begging increased as Hazard slowly raised a foot, its whining high-pitched as it pleaded for its life.

'_Kill it'_

Hazards face screwed up in agony as his raised foot trembled.

'I shouldn't' Hazard thought as he watched the beaten beast pled for mercy, fighting against his own growing rage.

'_It would kill you if it could, it would show no mercy to you if your roles were reversed'_

Hazard eyed the creature knowing it would kill him if it could but still… should he stoop to that level?

'Hazard what are you doing?' Unity whispered as it felt Hazard's indecisiveness and saw through his eyes the pleading creature.

'_IT WOULD KILL LISA!'_

Hazards foot slammed down into the Hunters face with terrible force, the trainer being splattered with blood and gore as Hazard foot crushed the Hunters skull and smearing the head into the ground. Hazard snarling in satisfaction as he twisted his heel, crushing the ooze that was the Hunters face, further into the ground.

'Hazard why did you do that?' Unity yelled shockingly.

"It would have killed Lisa if it could, the Tyrant answered coldly, letting it escape means it would have threatened her at a later date"

'But… it was defenceless'

"If it wanted to live then it shouldn't have started a fight" Hazard answered curtly as he looked over the area, searching for Lisa.

Unity fell into silence but it was feeling nothing but horror and a sickening feeling of shock as it examined its hosts mind wondering at his new found sense of rage.

Hazard found Lisa standing a few meters away, a dead Hunter at her feet and another squirming and struggling as Lisa held it in the air.

Hazard watched as Lisa snaked a tentacle around the fighting beasts neck and elegantly snapped its neck and dropped the now lifeless Hunter to the ground.

She looked around and her eyes met Hazards, "You ok?" he asked as he worriedly checked her over.

She shook her head, shaking off the adrenaline of the fight, then answered Hazard with a tired; "I am fine Hazard"

Hazard nodded and looked down at the two dead Hunters noting the quick and efficient way they had been killed. Lisa was certainly a much less sloppy killer then himself.

But as he stared a frown came to his brow as he realised something was amiss.

'There were four Hunters at the beginning, where is the fourth?' Unity asked first.

Hazard heard a scuffling behind him and spun round to the source of the sound. To his horror he saw the final Hunter was attacking the bug creature, overpowering its wounded prey while Hazard and Lisa were distracted.

Hazard dived for his crossbow, scooping it up and hurriedly reloading, the Hunter had its hands clamped tight around the bug monsters' throat and was steadily choking the life from it.

Hazard raised his cocked weapon and took aim but the Hunter spotted him training his weapon on it and spun its victim around so that it was in the way, the Hunter crouching behind the choking creature and grinning maliciously at Hazard.

'Dammit I can't risk shooting I'm not THAT good a marksman!' Hazard thought in dismay as he tried to find a clear shot.

The bug creatures' struggles were growing weak as its eyes began to close and Hazard prepared to fire and pray that his arrow wouldn't hit the Hunters captor. However before he could pull the trigger there was a loud screech of outrage from behind the struggling pair and another creature leapt from the undergrowth.

It was similar to the other bug monster, in that it was the same species, yet its eyes were a different colour and its skin was a much lighter shade, additionally it was much more slender then the other.

'We're willing to bet its female Hazard' Unity muttered.

Before the Hunter could turn the female bug had brought its scythe in an overhead arc right into the reptiles back, the bone claw sinking in deep and a spray of blood spat into the air as the Hunter roared in pain.

The female quickly pulled back hard, the Hunter being dragged back by the scythe impaled in its back and it was forced to let got of its choking prey.

The Hunter arched up as the female pulled back, its arms swiping feebly behind it, and Hazard took advantage and quickly released his shot.

The Hunter started in shock as the bolt slammed into its jaw and half-emerged from its skull with barely a sound. The large reptile remaining frozen for a few moments blinked stupidly as its brain tried to process what had happened before it fell back dead.

Hazard grinned as the scaley fell dead. That would teach the damn things to be more wary of him and Lisa!

He heard Lisa walk over to him and a hand gently lay on his head; he looked up questionably as Lisa gazed at him with clear amber eyes. Her tentacles traced over his body and he fought not to blush or shiver at the pleasant sensation.

"Just making sure you're ok" she mumbled defensively after Hazard coughed nervously, her eyes glaring at him for a moment daring him to try and make something of it.

"Thanks" he smiled back anyway and noted the lightening of her expression that he was beginning to understand meant she was smiling too.

Clearing his throat he stood up and looked worriedly over at the bug creature he had saved in what must have been the nick of time. The monster was coughing and rubbing its throat while waving away the other that was fussing over it.

Hazard stepped forward, opening his mouth to ask if they were ok, when the smaller creature hissed and sprang in front of him, its scythe hovering dangerously and mandibles bared in a snarl.

Hazard halted and glared back at the creature, he was only trying to be friendly and this was how it repaid him?

'I mean I save their lives and it wants to start a fight with me? What's up with that!' Hazard thought irritably.

The wounded bug was trying to tell the other to calm down judging by its harsh sounding clicking but the female wasn't budging just continued to glare at Hazard warningly.

Hazard felt his temper rise, very much like it had earlier with the Hunter, and felt his claws twitch with the urge to swat the damn nuisance aside and talk to the first bug directly… and perhaps give it an incentive to grovel and thank Hazard for saving its pathetic life.

'_You saved its life so shouldn't that life belong to you now? Is it not your right to decide how it lives or dies now?'_

Hazard almost stepped forward, intent on punishing the ugly things for their disobedience when he felt a familiar sensation take over his body. He had but a second to consider it before his own hand slapped him round the face.

"OW!"

'WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU HAZARD? WHY ARE YOU BEING SUCH A JERK YOU CRETIN?' Unity screeched in accusation as Hazard rubbed his smarting cheek.

"Wha?" was all Hazard could say; blinking rapidly as the anger drained away from him leaving him feeling tired for some reason.

'You are losing it Hazard, Unity growled, get this anger of yours under control or so help us we will smack you silly until you start being the goodie we know and love again'

'Don't tell me what to do Unity' Hazard thought back in a hiss of indignation, angrily retorting before he could stop himself.

The Tyrants eyes widened as he realised what he just thought and he groaned and held his head as he felt Unity's anger.

'I… I'm sorry… I don't know what-' Hazard thought in an apologetic babble.

However Hazard's babbling wasn't enough and with a loud roar of rage that made Hazard feel his head was gonna blow Unity made its displeasure known.

Hazard yelped as a fist smashed into his stomach, then again when his own tail tripped him up. He gasped for breath as he lay winded on the floor blushing with embarrassment as Lisa and the two bugs stared at him in amazement.

'Please don't hit me again' Hazard pleaded to Unity.

'Don't make me hit you again' the persona hissed before falling silent.

Hazard cautiously got back to his feet mumbling "Sorry for that" to his staring audience as he got his breath back.

'I'm sorry Unity I don't know why I acted like that… please forgive me' Hazard thought as he closed his eyes in pain. However he received nothing but sullen silence from his friend. The silence more hurtful then Unity's previous shouting.

"Hazard?" Lisa carefully approached him, a cautious and worried expression in her eyes, "Are you all right?"

Hazard nodded weakly, "Just something I gotta handle Lisa, I'll explain later," he said wearily, hoping Lisa wouldn't press the matter.

The girl didn't question him but he could still see the nervousness in her eyes and posture and knew he'd have to explain Unity and Virus to her before the day was over.

'Man that's gonna be fun, Hey Lisa! Just thought you should know I'm a split personality! Still wanna be friends?' he thought with dark humour.

He felt a stir from Unity and wondered if it would say anything but it remained stubbornly quiet just watched him edgily.

Hazard rubbed at his eyes trying to recollect his thoughts when there was a burst of clicking from the two bugs and they hesitantly approached him, the weaker male being supported by the female.

Hazard met the males questioning eyes and shrugged distractedly, "Can't even begin to explain my fit just now so I'll just say you ok?" he asked with false cheer.

The two bugs exchanged glances and began to click and hiss to each other as they conversed, Hazard stared at a loss to understand.

"Chimeras' do not understand our language" Lisa spoke quietly into his ear, "Nor can I make any sense of theirs"

"Chimeras'?" Hazard replied in question, his mind so tired he barely had the strength to inquire.

"They were another of the weapons made by Umbrella, a genetic crossbreed between insects and humans that was supposed to be a kind of spy or stealth soldier" Lisa explained, her tone bored as the Chimeras' talked.

Hazard glanced at Lisa noticing her impatience and guessing she wasn't used to this kind of situation and wanted to get going as soon as possible. Though Hazard would normally be happy to stay and talk to the Chimeras' he was too mentally fatigued by the fight and his argument with Unity to want to stay.

'Plus I feel… strange… strange for some other reason then an argument. Just 'why' was I so angry earlier?' Hazard thought in perplexity, worried by the rage he had experienced barely five minutes ago. He didn't like this anger that had griped him twice in less then ten minutes.

At last the Chimeras' finished speaking and the wounded male hobbled closer to Hazard and sniffed at him for a moment, the Tyrant holding still more uncertain then afraid as the beast sniffed at his chest.

The male then backed away and when it looked up at Hazard there was warmth in its four eyes now. It clicked to itself in thought; tilting its head as it did, then grinned and extended its clawed hand to the confused Tyrant.

Hazard stared for a moment, at first worried by its grin considering how many teeth it had, but now realising it was asking for a hand shake.

"Well at least I understand that" Hazard said with a smile as he took the proffered hand and gave it a hearty shake, the Chimera hissing to itself and shaking back enthusiastically.

"As fun as it looks we should be going Hazard, blood attracts things here purple one" Lisa whispered to Hazard, her words impatient and a little worried as her eyes darted around the wood carefully. Her amber eyes alternating between staring suspiciously at the surrounding woods and shooting the Chimeras' cold looks.

Hazard sighed and gave the Chimera an apologetic look, "Sorry buddy but the wife says we gotta go and I can't argue with her," Hazard said, grinning at Lisa's indignant glare.

The Chimera chirped in understanding and backed away, quickly being steadied by the other, they turned to leave but the female stopped and whispered to the male for a few moments before gingerly letting go of him and padding over to Hazard.

Hazard looked down at her curiously, despite their first meeting he guessed she was probably quite kind and cheerful judging by her bright eyes and nervous twitching.

He was about to lay a hand on her to calm her down before she thrust her hand out presenting something to him. Hazard cocked an eyebrow as he gazed at the thing she held out to him.

"This for me?" he asked as his hand hovered over hers. The female grunting impatiently in answer as she pushed her hand towards his.

Hazard hesitantly plucked the item from her hand turning it over in his fingers as he examined it, "A ballpoint pen?" he asked in disbelief, wondering at the strangeness of the metal gift.

The female smiled, (Again Hazard felt uneasy) and answered with a happy burst of chirps as she pointed out its functions excitedly.

"I have no idea what you said but thanks for the gift anyway" Hazard answered as he pocketed the pen. He paused in thought for a moment then rooted in his own pockets for something.

"Here ya go! An even trade Chimera girl" Hazard beamed as he handed the chimera a small pocket mirror.

The Chimera squealed and excitedly took the gift and Hazard smiled as he watched the female babble to the other about her new toy, however a tap on his shoulder made him turn towards an amused Lisa.

"Why do you carry something like that around with you?" Lisa asked mischievously as the Chimera cooed and poked at her own reflection.

"Its just something I picked up in the mansion" Hazard said defensively.

"You sure it's not to 'admire' your eyes from time to time Hazard?" Lisa chortled.

Hazard blushed and scratched his head, "Just to check my face for any wounds or blemishes from time to time" he weakly lied.

Lisa tilted her head and eyed him shrewdly; "Uh-huh" was all she said.

Hazard blushed harder, squirming under Lisa's bright gaze, he coughed, and turned back to the Chimera, "You like?"

The monster must have guessed what he was asking as she screeched happily and clutched it to her chest like a little kid, albeit a mutant bug kid.

Hazard grinned and almost patted her on the head but reined himself in when he realised he'd probably get bitten.

The male clicked impatiently and the female chirped a goodbye before hurrying to her friend and lending him support. Hazard watched the two disappear, (the female waving goodbye that Hazard answered with his own before they vanished in the undergrowth) and wondered if he should escort them to safety.

"They will be fine, there is a Chimera tunnel nearby" Lisa said calmly, noticing Hazards' unease and correctly interpreting the reason.

"You sure?" Hazard asked, taking a few steps forward and peering into the forest nervously.

Lisa sighed and looped a tentacle around Hazards arm and dragged the protesting Tyrant away, "They are more capable of surviving in this land then you are Hazard, after all they have lived here several years at least" Lisa said consolingly as Hazard reluctantly followed her.

"Yeah but he was injured" The young Tyrant muttered.

"And he will heal, very quickly I might add" Lisa stated growing bored with Hazards worrying, after all it was all unnecessary.

It still confused Lisa why they had risked themselves ('well as much of a risk that those pitiful Hunters made' Lisa thought mockingly) to save two Chimeras. In the past Lisa had killed them without hesitation, something she would have done again today regardless of the males wounded state. That would have just meant easier food for her.

'But Hazard stopped me, with just a pleading look I went against my instincts and spared them… why'd I do that?' the female Tyrant wondered in confusion.

"Were we going if 'I' may ask Lisa?" Hazard asked, his words disrupting Lisa's thoughts.

"Uh we are continuing on my patrol route" she answered simply.

"And the route is?" Hazard pressed.

"Otherwise called a path" Lisa quipped.

Hazard scowled at her and Lisa grinned under her mask, she was finding some enjoyment in pestering her young companion.

"Why did you spare the Chimera's?" Lisa asked, to satisfy her curiosity and to prevent Hazard's questions.

Hazard blinked and again gave Lisa another of those 'you being a duh?' looks, "Because he was injured and being chased by Hunters" he said simply.

"So? We kill him, and the Hunters, and have more food to bring back home"

Lisa glanced back the way they had came, their passage allowing the forest to hid the bodies from her eyes, 'Actually I should probably have dragged those corpses back home really' she though in self-annoyance and missing Hazards revolted look.

"Lisa we couldn't have eaten them!" Hazard said in shocked surprise.

Lisa gave him a shrewd look, "So what else do we eat Mr peaceful?"

"There's a fridge stocked with food back in the mansion, I've been eating from that without troubles"

Lisa smirked and clapped her hands, "Oh well, a fridge! Our food problems are over, we'll be set up for life!"

Hazard growled at her, "It will last awhile and means we wouldn't have to eat the Chimeras'" he said curtly.

Lisa shook her head, "Yes Hazard but that food will only last a few days at best and 'experience', she said the word to him insultingly, has taught me to save and preserve whatever sources of food I can find"

Lisa finished and stared at Hazard as the Tyrant glared at her venomously. She watched his slitted eyes staring at her with a healthy dose of anger, probably due to her reminding him of her older and wiser status, and wondered if she had gone too far.

However as she readied herself to fight Hazard looked away and closed his eyes, "It may be logical but I won't let you kill and eat creatures that mean us no harm Lisa, its not the 'right' thing to do and that's that" he said once he had calmed himself down.

Lisa watched Hazard stare angrily at the ground and felt another unaccustomed emotion… regret.

The girl sighed and stepped forward her hands cautiously taking Hazards own half-expecting him to squeeze and hurt her yet his hold was gentle as he looked up at her with still hurt eyes.

"Look I'm not saying we hunt those Chimeras down or kill them when we next meet them I'm just saying Hazard that you're gonna have to get used to doing some things that you probably won't like if you want to survive" Lisa said gently, surprising herself at being the calming one this time.

Hazard nodded and his face now showed resignation and a little fear, "I'm just scared that I'll end up like 'them', Hazard spat the word in disgust, just another beast trying to survive" he whispered fearfully.

Lisa watched him carefully, his pain understood as she had been dealing with it for a very long time herself, 'Holding onto your sanity in this place isn't easy that's for sure' she thought morosely.

"Hey, Lisa spoke gently, you said that you admired me for surviving this long without going nuts right?

She waited for Hazards nod, "Then if I can survive this long then with the two of use together we'll hold onto our minds for many years to come" she continued supportably.

"Until we escape," Hazard added confidently.

Lisa nodded thought didn't say an answer as she wasn't certain herself about that.

'Not after over a decade of being alone'

Hazard steeled himself and met Lisa's eyes with fresh determination; "Ok Lisa I'll try and pick up some new eating habits from you if you pick up some caring habits from me?" he challenged.

The girl smiled though Hazard couldn't see it, 'I already have' she thought uncomfortably.

"We'll see" she finished and carried on walking, Hazard following and arguing about "That's not a proper answer Lisa!"

The two Tyrants continued on deeper into the forest Hazard following his newfound friend with nothing but trust, compassion, and a deep but well hidden feeling of… something in his chest. But something he wouldn't dare name or mention out loud.

As for Lisa for the first time she felt completely secure and safe having another creature guarding her back, the instinctual urge to attack and thus defend her vulnerable back not once making itself known.

And as she led Hazard through her routine, giggling as he stumbled and cursed through the forest, she felt the loneliness that she had suffered for many years begin to lift…

And in its place leave a warm sensation in her chest that, while new and frightening, she wouldn't ever wish it gone from her.

"Hazard would you stop playing around before every predator for miles discovers us" Lisa snapped, but secretly smiling under her veil.

Hazard curt reply and subsequent squeal as he tripped again brought a burst of laughter from the girl as she watched Hazard writhe on the floor, yelling "ITS NOT FUNNY!" as he tried to free himself of the vines tangled around him.

'Thank you God, wherever you are, for giving me this miracle' the ferocious and yet gentle girl thought as she helped Hazard up and tidied him up.

"Sorry" Hazard muttered as he pulled a twig from his hair.

"Don't worry about it purple one" Lisa giggled.

"Why do you call me that?" Hazard asked with a squinted stare.

"Cause its what you are" Lisa said seriously, "Stupid" she added with an invisible grin.

Hazard stared at her for a moment, his eyes wide with surprise at Lisa's (however lame) banter, before he shrieked and chased after her, "Oh you gonna pay for that, nobody calls Hazard stupid!" he yelled laughingly as he chased her.

And to Lisa's delightful surprise the urge to fight never rose and instead she ran, laughing and squealing as her friend chased her, his own laughter music to her ears.

'I have a friend' Lisa thought happily as she dodged Hazard and the two chased one another through the forest. Bright grins on both their smiling faces.

Monsters playing like the children they were, monsters at last experiencing the joy of friendship.

Monsters at last beginning to feel the first gentle touches of love.

End Act 3

**OH MY GOD!**

**It has taken me FUCKING months; it seems, to complete this!**

**I mean first it was only gonna be forty pages or so but then it went on and on and it was NEVER right to be called finished.**

'**Just a bit more, just a bit more' I kept saying.**

**BUT! At last I consider this act done and what a great FEELING it is! J**

**Oh man I'm so tired and happy now.**

**My longest chappy 'ever' and I PRAY that you, my much loved readers (seriously love you all) will be so kind to review and hopefully have enjoyed it immensely.**

…**Sigh (falls back in chair) think I'm gonna wait a bit and have a rest before doing the next Act.**

**Besides (musing) I gotta get next chapter of 'born from darkness loved by light' done now…**

**OK! Thankies so much for reading and I'll get back to this once I got my sonic chapter done so hopefully almost 100 pages of writing will keep you guys happy until the next batch.**

**But please! (Gets down on knees and begs) don't ask for another hug Act as I think another of these long chapters would kill me!**

**Ok so take care, bye-bye then, (sticks tongue out) PLEAW! **


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